119-hr2336

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2336 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2336

 To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Doris Miller, in 
 recognition of his acts of valor while a member of the United States 
 Navy during World War II.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 25, 2025

 Mr. Mfume introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
 Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
 within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Doris Miller, in 
 recognition of his acts of valor while a member of the United States 
 Navy during World War II.

 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 ``Doris Miller Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Doris Miller, like other African-American sailors of 
 his day, was generally relegated to service-based roles on 
 ships, as the Navy did not allow sailors of color to enlist in 
 combat roles.

    (2) On December 7, 1941, Doris Miller was serving aboard 
 the USS West Virginia in Hawaii when Japanese torpedo bombers 
 attacked his ship and others at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base--
 headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. During this infamous 
 attack, Doris Miller manned a gun magazine amidships. When a 
 torpedo damaged the magazine, Doris Miller helped carry the 
 wounded to safety, including his ship's commander, Captain 
 Mervyn S. Bennion. Doris Miller then manned a .50 caliber 
 antiaircraft gun, for which he had no training, and continued 
 firing on the enemy until he ran out of ammunition and received 
 the order to abandon ship.

    (3) Doris Miller was acknowledged in the USS West Virginia 
 Action Report, individually, along with other brave personnel 
 for having ``carried out every order promptly and 
 enthusiastically, even when it meant danger to themselves. They 
 did not attempt to abandon the bridge until ordered to do 
 so.''.

    (4) Doris Miller aided other service members and ``was 
 instrumental in hauling people along through oil and water to 
 the quarterdeck, thereby unquestionably saving the lives of a 
 number of people who might otherwise have been lost.''.

    (5) On December 15, 1941, the Navy released its 
 commendations for actions in Pearl Harbor which included one 
 ``unnamed Negro''. It wasn't until March of 1942, at the behest 
 of the NAACP, that the Navy formally recognized Miller's 
 heroism.

    (6) Doris Miller was recognized by the Navy and awarded the 
 Navy Cross Medal with the citation reading ``For distinguished 
 devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his 
 own personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl 
 Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7, 
 1941. While at the side of his Captain on the bridge, Miller, 
 despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious 
 fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally 
 wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and 
 operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking 
 aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge.''.

    (7) On May 27, 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz personally 
 pinned the Navy Cross to Miller's left breast pocket while on 
 board the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

    (8) Doris Miller died in action on November 24, 1943, on 
 board the USS Liscome Bay in the Pacific Ocean after a single 
 Japanese torpedo sank the vessel off the coast of Butaritari 
 Island.

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 gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of 
Doris Miller, in recognition of his acts of valor while a member of the 
Navy during World War II.

    (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 it 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 shall make the gold medal received 
 under paragraph

    (1) available for display elsewhere, 
 particularly at other appropriate locations associated with 
 Doris Miller.

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 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 
pursuant to this Act.

    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--The amounts received from the sale of 
duplicate bronze medals authorized under 

section 4 shall be deposited 
into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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