[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1900 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1900

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the seventh day of January, two thousand and three


                                 An Act


 
 To award a congressional gold medal to Jackie Robinson (posthumously), 
 in recognition of his many contributions to the Nation, and to express 
    the sense of the Congress that there should be a national day in 
                     recognition of Jackie Robinson.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in 
    Cairo, Georgia, and was the youngest of 5 children.
        (2) Jackie Robinson attended the University of California Los 
    Angeles where he starred in football, basketball, baseball, and 
    track. His remarkable skills earned him a reputation as the best 
    athlete in America.
        (3) In 1947, Jackie Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers 
    and became the first black player to play in Major League Baseball. 
    His signing is considered one of the most significant moments in 
    the history of professional sports in America. For his remarkable 
    performance on the field in his first season, he won the National 
    League's Rookie of the Year Award.
        (4) In 1949, Jackie Robinson was voted the National League's 
    Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of 
    America.
        (5) In 1962, Jackie Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall 
    of Fame.
        (6) Although the achievements of Jackie Robinson began with 
    athletics, they widened to have a profound influence on civil and 
    human rights in America.
        (7) The signing of Jackie Robinson as the first black player in 
    Major League Baseball occurred before the United States military 
    was desegregated by President Harry Truman, before the civil rights 
    marches took place in the South, and before the Supreme Court 
    issued its historic ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 
    483 (1954).
        (8) The American public came to regard Jackie Robinson as a 
    person of exceptional fortitude, integrity, and athletic ability so 
    rapidly that, by the end of 1947, he finished ahead of President 
    Harry Truman, General Dwight Eisenhower, General Douglas MacArthur, 
    and Bob Hope in a national poll for the most popular person in 
    America, finishing only behind Bing Crosby.
        (9) Jackie Robinson was named vice president of Chock Full O' 
    Nuts in 1957 and later co-founded the Freedom National Bank of 
    Harlem.
        (10) Leading by example, Jackie Robinson influenced many of the 
    greatest political leaders in America.
        (11) Jackie Robinson worked tirelessly with a number of 
    religious and civic organizations to better the lives of all 
    Americans.
        (12) The life and principles of Jackie Robinson are the basis 
    of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which keeps his memory alive by 
    providing children of low-income families with leadership and 
    educational opportunities.
        (13) The legacy and personal achievements of Jackie Robinson, 
    as an athlete, a business leader, and a citizen, have had a lasting 
    and positive influence on the advancement of civil rights in the 
    United States.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized to 
present, on behalf of the Congress, to the family of Jackie Robinson, a 
gold medal of appropriate design in recognition of the many 
contributions of Jackie Robinson to the Nation.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (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.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal 
struck under section 2 at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the 
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.

SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

    The medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes 
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund an amount 
not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medal authorized under 
section 2.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States 
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
        (1) there should be designated a national day for the purpose 
    of recognizing the accomplishments of Jackie Robinson; and
        (2) the President should issue a proclamation calling on the 
    people of the United States to observe the day with appropriate 
    ceremonies and activities.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.