[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 498 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 498
To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the
African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, in
recognition of their bravery and outstanding service.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 10, 2025
Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Kaine) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the
African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, in
recognition of their bravery and outstanding service.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``United States Colored Troops
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Since the Colonial Era, African Americans have served
the United States in times of war.
(2) During the Civil War, approximately 200,000 African-
American men served in the Union Army and 19,000 African-
American men served in the Union Navy.
(3) During the Civil War, African-American women were not
allowed to formally enlist as soldiers or sailors, though they
served as nurses, cooks, spies, and scouts for the Union Army
and the Union Navy.
(4) While African-American men served in the Navy since its
establishment, there was resistance to enlisting them to take
up arms for the Union Army at the start of the Civil War.
(5) As the Civil War dragged on, President Lincoln broke
from the previous policy of his administration and determined
that liberating enslaved persons ``was a military necessity
absolutely essential for the salvation of the Union''.
(6) The Act entitled ``An Act to suppress insurrection, to
punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the
property of rebels, and for other purposes'', approved July 17,
1862 (commonly known as the ``Second Confiscation Act'') (12
Stat. 589; chapter 195), and the Act of July 17, 1862 (commonly
known as the ``Military Act of 1862'') (12 Stat. 597; chapter
201), were the first official authorizations to employ African
Americans in the Union Army.
(7) It was not until January 1, 1863, the effective date of
the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln, that
the Union Army was ordered to receive African-American men.
(8) On May 22, 1863, the United States War Department
issued General Order Number 143, which established the Bureau
of Colored Troops for the recruitment and organization of
regiments of the Union Army composed of African-American men,
called the United States Colored Troops (referred to in this
section as ``USCT'').
(9) Leaders such as Frederick Douglass encouraged African
Americans to enlist to advance the cause of citizenship. ``Once
let the black man get upon his person the brass letters,
`U.S.', let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his
shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on
[E]arth that can deny that he has earned the right to
citizenship.'', wrote Douglass.
(10) African-American sailors constituted a significant
segment of the Union Navy, making up 20 percent of the total
enlisted force of the Navy.
(11) Although there were rank restrictions on African
Americans in the Navy before the Civil War, this policy changed
after the establishment of the USCT, when the Union Navy
started to compete with the Union Army for enlistment of
African Americans.
(12) Yet, in practice, most African Americans could not
advance beyond lowest ranks of ``boy'' and ``landsman''.
(13) African-American soldiers and sailors served with
distinction, honor, and bravery amid racial discrimination and
adverse circumstances, including the risk of enslavement and
torture if captured.
(14) Eighteen members of the USCT and 8 African-American
sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest honor in
the United States for bravery in combat.
(15) For generations after the Civil War, the contributions
of African Americans in the Civil War were excluded from
historical memory.
(16) Public Law No. 102-412 (106 Stat. 2104) authorized the
establishment of a memorial on Federal land in the District of
Columbia to honor African Americans who served with Union
forces during the Civil War.
(17) This memorial, featuring a bronze statue of USCT
soldiers, an African-American sailor and family, is surrounded
by the Wall of Honor, which lists the names of the members of
the USCT.
(18) The African American Civil War Museum is located in
the District of Columbia.
(19) Patriots and heroes who rose in service to a Nation
that would not fully recognize them, the African Americans who
served the Union during the Civil War deserve our recognition
for their contributions to the grant of emancipation and
citizenship for nearly 4,000,000 enslaved people and the
preservation of the Union.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make appropriate
arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of
a gold medal of appropriate design to the African Americans who served
with Union forces during the Civil War, collectively, in recognition of
their bravery and outstanding service during the Civil War.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the presentation
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by
the Secretary.
(c) Smithsonian Institution.--
(1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal
under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the
Smithsonian Institution, where the medal shall be available for
display as appropriate and made available for research.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal received
under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere,
particularly at appropriate locations associated with the
United States Colored Troops.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck pursuant to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the
cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this Act are
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States
Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31,
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck
under this Act.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
<all>