119-s1893

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1893 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1893

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Henrietta Lacks, in 
 recognition of her immortal cells which have made invaluable 
 contributions to global health, scientific research, our quality of 
 life, and patients' rights.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 May 22, 2025

 Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Ms. Alsobrooks) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Henrietta Lacks, in 
 recognition of her immortal cells which have made invaluable 
 contributions to global health, scientific research, our quality of 
 life, and patients' rights.

 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 ``Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman born on 
 August 1, 1920, in Roanoke, Virginia, was raised by her 
 grandfather on a tobacco farm in Clover, Virginia.

    (2) Henrietta Lacks, her husband, and family moved to 
 Baltimore, Maryland in 1941 seeking economic opportunity at the 
 Bethlehem Steel Plant.

    (3) In 1951, Henrietta Lacks sought treatment for her 
 continuous vaginal bleeding from The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 
 which was one of the few hospitals willing to treat African 
 Americans at that time. Gynecologists discovered a large, 
 malignant tumor on her cervix.

    (4) Unbeknownst to Henrietta Lacks or her family, medical 
 researchers took samples of Henrietta Lacks' tumor during her 
 treatment without her consent. Henrietta Lacks' cells, now 
 known as ``HeLa Cells'', doubled every 20 to 24 hours whereas 
 other human cells died in the same time period. The HeLa Cells 
 are the first known immortal line of human cells in history.

    (5) On October 4, 1951, 31-year-old Henrietta Lacks died of 
 an aggressive cervical cancer eight months after her cancer 
 diagnosis, leaving behind her husband and 5 children.

    (6) The HeLa immortal cell line is the oldest and most used 
 human cell line used in scientific research. Henrietta Lacks' 
 immortal cells have been commercialized and distributed 
 worldwide to researchers, resulting in groundbreaking 
 advancements in modern science and technology.

    (7) Henrietta Lacks' prolific cells continue to replicate 
 to this day and contribute to remarkable advances in medicine, 
 including the development of the polio vaccine and drugs used 
 to treat cancer, HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, leukemia, and 
 Parkinson's disease. HeLa cells have been used in research that 
 has contributed to our understanding of the effects of 
 radiation and zero gravity on human cells, and have informed 
 research on chromosomal conditions, cancer, gene mapping, and 
 precision medicine.

    (8) The use of HeLa cells as the foundation for biomedical 
 research has led to several Nobel Prize winning discoveries. 
 The National Institute of Health located over 110,000 
 publications that cited the use of HeLa cells between 1953 to 
 2018. These advances were made possible by Henrietta Lacks' 
 cells, yet the revenues they generated were not known to her 
 family for more than twenty years.

    (9) Henrietta Lacks is a linchpin to modern bioethics 
 policies and informed consent laws that benefit patients 
 nationwide by building patient trust and protecting research 
 participants.

    (10) Henrietta Lacks' legacy has been recognized around the 
 world through memorials, conferences, museum exhibitions, 
 libraries, and print and visual media for changing the face of 
 medical science.

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 
Henrietta Lacks, in recognition of her immortal cells which have made 
invaluable contributions to global health, scientific research, our 
quality of life, and patients' rights.

    (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.
            (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 should make the gold medal received 
 under paragraph

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

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.--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.
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