119-hr269

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 269 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 269

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Jens Stoltenberg, in recognition 
 of his contributions to the security, unity, and defense of the North 
 Atlantic Treaty Organization.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 9, 2025

Mr. Dunn of Florida (for himself, Mr. Turner of Ohio, Mr. Connolly, Mr. 
Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. McCormick, Mr. Gottheimer, 
 Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Norcross, and 
 Mr. Lawler) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Jens Stoltenberg, in recognition 
 of his contributions to the security, unity, and defense of the North 
 Atlantic Treaty Organization.

 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 ``Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg 
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Jens Stoltenberg served as the Prime Minister of Norway 
 from 2000 to 2001 and 2005 to 2013.

    (2) Norway was a founding member of the North Atlantic 
 Treaty Organization (referred to in this Act as ``NATO'') on 
 April 4, 1949.

    (3) As Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg oversaw 
 Norway's increased defense spending levels and the 
 modernization of the Norwegian Armed Forces.

    (4) A primary objective of NATO is to provide security and 
 support to member nations and promote democratic values to 
 ensure stability and peace.

    (5) Jens Stoltenberg assumed the position of Secretary 
 General of NATO in October 2014.

    (6) The United States was the first NATO member to support 
 Jens Stoltenberg's appointment as Secretary General.

    (7) Jens Stoltenberg has led NATO through significant new 
 investments, reinforced its capabilities and enhanced the 
 collective defense of the Alliance.

    (8) Jens Stoltenberg has advocated for greater burden 
 sharing among members of the NATO Alliance, and under his 
 leadership the Alliance will see 23 member countries reach or 
 exceed the 2 percent defense spending commitment by 2024, 
 compared to 4 member countries in 2014.

    (9) Jens Stoltenberg's commitment to better burden sharing 
 has resulted in a stronger and more sustainable Alliance than 
 at any other time in NATO history.

    (10) Under Jens Stoltenberg's leadership, NATO has 
 successfully undergone multiple enlargement periods and has 
 extended membership to Finland, Montenegro, North Macedonia and 
 Sweden.

    (11) In addition to bolstering the collective security of 
 the Alliance, NATO enlargement indicates that an increasing 
 number of countries are meeting key benchmarks on the military, 
 political and legal requirements needed for NATO accession, 
 enhancing interoperability, defense expenditure and 
 intelligence sharing among member countries.

    (12) Jens Stoltenberg has increased NATO's partnerships 
 with Indo-Pacific countries to cooperate more closely to 
 address our shared global challenges including cyber defense, 
 emergency technologies, and the multitude of challenges posed 
 by the People's Republic of China.

    (13) Jens Stoltenberg included Indo-Pacific leaders at NATO 
 summits and traveled to the region which further cemented these 
 important partnerships.

    (14) Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 
 February 2022, Jens Stoltenberg has led the Alliance in 
 maintaining unprecedented unity against Putin's unprovoked, 
 illegal actions.

    (15) Since February 2022, NATO members have supplied 
 Ukraine with the equipment and resources it needs to defend its 
 democracy and its sovereignty.

    (16) Jens Stoltenberg successfully marshaled political and 
 financial support from Indo-Pacific partners to support 
 Ukraine, including contributions of munitions and military 
 equipment and sizeable financial contributions to NATO's 
 Comprehensive Assistance Plan Action Trust Fund for Ukraine.

    (17) Jens Stoltenberg's mandate was extended a total of 4 
 times with unanimous support by NATO allies, with 2 extensions 
 agreed to following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

    (18) Jens Stoltenberg is the second longest-serving 
 Secretary General, serving over 9 years in this position.

    (19) Jens Stoltenberg has re-committed that the NATO 
 Alliance will stand together against any threat posed to a NATO 
 member, ensuring continued peace and stability within NATO 
 territory and around the world.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives 
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate 
arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design to Jens Stoltenberg, in recognition of his 
contributions to the security, unity, and defense of the North Atlantic 
Treaty Organization.

    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the award 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 inscription of the name of Jens Stoltenberg.

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 
of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--Medals struck under 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 Sales.--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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