119-s94

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 94 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 94

To award 3 Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the 1980 United 
 States Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, in recognition of their 
extraordinary achievement at the XIII Olympic Winter Games where, being 
 comprised of amateur collegiate players, they defeated the dominant 
Soviet ice hockey team in the historic ``Miracle on Ice'', revitalizing 
 morale in the United States at the height of the Cold War, inspiring 
 generations, and transforming the sport of ice hockey in the United 
 States.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 15, 2025

 Mr. Cramer (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Hickenlooper, 
Mr. Curtis, Mr. Peters, Mrs. Blackburn, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Rounds, and 
 Ms. Smith) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To award 3 Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the 1980 United 
 States Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, in recognition of their 
extraordinary achievement at the XIII Olympic Winter Games where, being 
 comprised of amateur collegiate players, they defeated the dominant 
Soviet ice hockey team in the historic ``Miracle on Ice'', revitalizing 
 morale in the United States at the height of the Cold War, inspiring 
 generations, and transforming the sport of ice hockey in the United 
 States.

 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 ``Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) The United States Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team 
 competed at the 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII 
 Olympic Winter Games and known as the 1980 Lake Placid games, 
 from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York.

    (2) Team USA, comprised of collegiate players, defeated the 
 defending Olympic champion the Soviet Union 4-3 on February 22, 
 1980, in the final round of the 1980 Winter Olympics men's ice 
 hockey tournament.

    (3) The 1980 United States Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team 
 roster included--
        (A) Bill Baker (Grand Rapids, Minnesota);
        (B) Neal Broten (Roseau, Minnesota);
            (C) Dave Christian (Warroad, Minnesota);
            (D) Steve Christoff (Richfield, Minnesota);
        (E) Jim Craig (North Easton, Massachusetts);
        (F) Mike Eruzione (Winthrop, Massachusetts);
        (G) John Harrington (Virginia, Minnesota);
        (H) Steve Janaszak (Saint Paul, Minnesota);
            (I) Mark Johnson (Madison, Wisconsin);
        (J) Rob McClanahan (Saint Paul, Minnesota);
        (K) Ken Morrow (Flint, Michigan);
            (L) Jack O'Callahan (Charlestown, Massachusetts);
            (M) Mark Pavelich (Eveleth, Minnesota);
        (N) Mike Ramsey (Minneapolis, Minnesota);
        (O) Buzz Schneider (Grand Rapids, Minnesota);
        (P) Dave Silk (Scituate, Massachusetts);
        (Q) Eric Strobel (Rochester, Minnesota);
        (R) Bob Suter (Madison, Wisconsin);
        (S) Mark Wells (St. Clair Shores, Michigan); and
        (T) Phil Verchota (Duluth, Minnesota).

    (4) The ``Miracle on Ice'' United States and Soviet Union 
 final round game aired on tape delay on Feb 22, 1980, from Lake 
 Placid and drew 34,200,000 average viewers. The match is 
 remembered as a ``miracle'' as collegiate ice hockey players 
 defied expectations in defeating a Soviet team that won 4 
 consecutive gold medals dating back to 1964.

    (5) Team USA defeated Finland 4-1 in its final game to win 
 the gold medal, its first gold medal since 1960 in men's ice 
 hockey.

    (6) Herb Brooks, the last player cut from the 1960 United 
 States Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team that won gold at Squaw 
 Valley, guided the 1980 team to its historic gold medal. Known 
 as a motivator, Brooks molded a team built around hard work, 
 belief in oneself, and belief in teammates. He reminded his 
 team when they played the Soviets, ``you were born to be hockey 
 players, everyone one of you . . . and you were meant to be 
 here''.

    (7) The tournament occurred at a time when the United 
 States was struggling with rampant stagflation, high gas 
 prices, hostages held in Iran, and increased tensions with the 
 Soviet Union whose invasion of Afghanistan led to the boycott 
 of the 1980 Summer Olympics.

    (8) The Miracle on Ice was a turning point for ice hockey 
 in the United States. The game was named the greatest sports 
 moment of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated.

    (9) The historic win brought ice hockey to the front-page 
 of newspapers everywhere, and forever opened the door to the 
 National Hockey League for players born in the United States. 
 The impact of the event was far-reaching and is still being 
 felt today.

    (10) Since 1980, interest in the United States in the sport 
 of ice hockey has increased exponentially. Registrations with 
 USA Hockey have increased by nearly 400 percent since 1980 from 
 136,000 to over 564,000, and the number of National Hockey 
 League players from the United States has increased from 72 in 
 1980 to 245 in 2024.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDALS.

    (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 Congress, of 3 gold medals of 
appropriate design to the members of the 1980 United States Olympic 
Men's Ice Hockey Team, in recognition of their extraordinary 
achievement at the XIII Olympic Winter Games where, being comprised of 
amateur collegiate players, they defeated the dominant Soviet hockey 
team in the historic ``Miracle on Ice'', revitalizing morale in the 
United States at the height of the Cold War, inspiring generations, and 
transforming the sport of ice hockey in the United States.

    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection

    (a) , the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this 
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike gold medals with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.
            (c) Disposition of Medals.--Following the award of the gold medals 
under subsection

    (a) --

    (1) one gold medal shall be given to the Lake Placid 
 Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York, where it shall be 
 displayed and made available for research, as appropriate;

    (2) one gold medal shall be given to the United States 
 Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth, Minnesota, where it 
 shall be displayed and made available for research, as 
 appropriate; and

    (3) one gold medal shall be given to the United States 
 Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 
 where it shall be displayed and made available for research, as 
 appropriate.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medals 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 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 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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