February 14, 2025
Mr. Bishop (for himself, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, Mr. Norcross, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mr. Jack, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Norton, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Khanna, and Mr. Cleaver) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to former President Jimmy Carter in recognition of his service to the Nation.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the President Jimmy Carter Congressional Gold Medal Act
.
Sec. 2. Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
President Jimmy Carter served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
(2)
President Jimmy Carter, whose full name is James Earl Carter, Jr., was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, a small farming town.
(3)
President Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1946 and actively served as a submarine officer for 7 years. He served in the Navy Reserve for another 8 years, separating from the Navy with the rank of Lieutenant in 1961.
(4)
President Carter married his wife and life partner of 77 years, Rosalynn Smith, on July 7th, 1946, in Plains, Georgia.
(5)
President Carter entered state politics in 1962 and was elected to the Georgia State Senate from the 14th District in 1963. He was sworn in as the 76th governor of Georgia in 1971. During his tenure, he emphasized government efficiency and removing racial discrimination.
(6)
Guided by his moral values and deep religious faith, Jimmy Carter’s presidency was characterized by a commitment to championing civil and human rights around the world. His foreign policy accomplishments include the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, the normalization and treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel following the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, the SALT II nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union, and the establishment of United States diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
(7)
President Jimmy Carter’s domestic legacy includes the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation ever approved by Congress; the Nation’s first national energy policy; and the creation of the Departments of Education and Energy.
(8)
After his presidency, he founded the Carter Center along with his wife Rosalynn, which is dedicated to conflict resolution, supervising democratic elections abroad, and combating neglected tropical diseases.
(9)
Through their work with the Carter Center, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are credited with the near eradication of the painful parasitic infection known as Guinea worm disease, reducing cases from an estimated total of 3,500,000 in 1986 to just 14 in 2023.
(10)
Through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity known as the Carter Work Project, Jimmy and his wife Rosalynn led and worked alongside over 100,000 volunteers across 14 countries to build, improve, and repair over 4,400 homes.
(11)
In 2002, Jimmy Carter became the third American President to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development
.
(12)
President Carter exemplifies American voluntarism through his countless service activities in his home State of Georgia, throughout the United States, and across the world.
Sec. 3. Congressional gold medal
(a) Presentation authorized
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to former President Jimmy Carter in recognition of his service to the Nation.
(b) Design and striking
For purposes of the presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the Secretary
) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. The design shall bear an image of, and inscription of the name of Jimmy Carter.
(c) Disposition of medal
Following the award of the medal under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sec. 4. Duplicate medals
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
Sec. 5. Status of medals
(a) National medal
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 sections 5134 and 5136 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.