Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB485 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 485
5	5	To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Muhammad Ali,
6	6	in recognition of his contributions to the United States.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	JANUARY16, 2025
9	9	Mr. C
10	10	ARSON(for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. BISHOP, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. CAR-
11	11	TERof Louisiana, Ms. CLARKEof New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN,
12	12	Mr. C
13	13	OSTA, Ms. DAVIDSof Kansas, Mr. DAVISof Illinois, Mrs. DINGELL,
14	14	Mr. D
15	15	OGGETT, Mr. EVANSof Pennsylvania, Mr. FROST, Mr. GREENof
16	16	Texas, Mrs. H
17	17	AYES, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JACKSONof Illinois, Mr. JOHN-
18	18	SONof Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. KEATING, Ms. KELLYof Illi-
19	19	nois, Mr. K
20	20	RISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LARSONof Connecticut, Ms. LEEof
21	21	Pennsylvania, Mr. L
22	22	YNCH, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs.
23	23	M
24	24	CIVER, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOOREof Wisconsin, Mr. MRVAN, Mr.
25	25	M
26	26	ULLIN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms.
27	27	S
28	28	TRICKLAND, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. THOMPSONof Mississippi, Ms. TLAIB,
29	29	Mr. T
30	30	ORRESof New York, and Mr. VARGAS) introduced the following bill;
31	31	which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
32	32	A BILL
33	33	To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Mu-
34	34	hammad Ali, in recognition of his contributions to the
35	35	United States.
36	36	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
37	37	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
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40	40	•HR 485 IH
41	41	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
42	42	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Muhammad Ali Con-2
43	43	gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 3
44	44	SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4
45	45	Congress finds the following: 5
46	46	(1) Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., on Janu-6
47	47	ary 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, Muhammad 7
48	48	Ali was the first child of Cassius, Sr., and Odessa 8
49	49	Clay. 9
50	50	(2) Muhammad Ali was one of the most cele-10
51	51	brated athletes of the 20th century. He produced 11
52	52	some of the greatest sports memories in the United 12
53	53	States, from winning a gold medal at the 1960 Sum-13
54	54	mer Olympics to lighting the Olympic torch at the 14
55	55	1996 Summer Olympics. 15
56	56	(3) After an impressive amateur career, during 16
57	57	which he won 2 National AAU light heavyweight ti-17
58	58	tles, Muhammad Ali became the first professional 18
59	59	boxer in history to capture the heavyweight title 3 19
60	60	separate times. 20
61	61	(4) On April 28, 1967, he was stripped of his 21
62	62	boxing title and barred from competing for being a 22
63	63	conscientious objector to the war in Vietnam on reli-23
64	64	gious and moral grounds. However, following a 24
65	65	unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of the 25
66	66	United States in 1971, Muhammad Ali’s conscien-26
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69	69	•HR 485 IH
70	70	tious objector status was confirmed, his boxing li-1
71	71	cense was reinstated, and he was cleared of any 2
72	72	wrongdoing. 3
73	73	(5) As an African American and a Muslim who 4
74	74	lived in an era that continued to question his civil 5
75	75	rights, Muhammad Ali battled issues of race and re-6
76	76	ligion, and received recognition as one of the cham-7
77	77	pions of the Civil Rights Movement in the United 8
78	78	States. 9
79	79	(6) Muhammad Ali was the recipient of many 10
80	80	awards for his sporting prowess and his support of 11
81	81	racial harmony, including the Dr. Martin Luther 12
82	82	King Memorial Award, the Spirit of America Award, 13
83	83	the Amnesty International Lifetime Achievement 14
84	84	Award, the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Es-15
85	85	sence Living Legend Award, the Rainbow Coalition 16
86	86	Lifetime Achievement Award, the XNBA Human 17
87	87	Spirit Award, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and 18
88	88	the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 19
89	89	(7) Muhammad Ali was acknowledged by many 20
90	90	organizations for his achievements both inside and 21
91	91	outside the boxing ring, including being crowned 22
92	92	‘‘Sportsman of the Century’’ by Sports Illustrated, 23
93	93	being named ‘‘Athlete of the Century’’ by GQ maga-24
94	94	zine, being named ‘‘Sports Personality of the Cen-25
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97	97	•HR 485 IH
98	98	tury’’ by the British Broadcasting Corporation, 1
99	99	being named ‘‘Kentucky Athlete of the Century’’ by 2
100	100	the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, being named 3
101	101	‘‘Kentuckian of the Century’’ by the State of Ken-4
102	102	tucky, being named ‘‘Louisvillian of the Century’’ by 5
103	103	the Advertising Club of Louisville, being named 6
104	104	‘‘Boxer of the Century’’ by the World Sports Awards 7
105	105	of the Century, being recognized by the Inter-8
106	106	national Boxing Hall of Fame, and receiving hon-9
107	107	orary doctorate degrees from Muhlenberg College 10
108	108	and Princeton University. 11
109	109	(8) Muhammad Ali received the prestigious 12
110	110	Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold from the United 13
111	111	Nations Association of Germany for his work with 14
112	112	the United Nations and the Civil Rights Movement 15
113	113	in the United States. 16
114	114	(9) Muhammad Ali was selected by the Cali-17
115	115	fornia Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Con-18
116	116	stitution for personifying the vitality of the Bill of 19
117	117	Rights in various high-profile activities. 20
118	118	(10) Despite having been diagnosed with Par-21
119	119	kinson’s disease in the early 1980s, Muhammad Ali 22
120	120	dedicated his life to the cause of universal human 23
121	121	rights and freedom. His commitment to equal justice 24
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124	124	•HR 485 IH
125	125	and peace touched the lives of hundreds of thou-1
126	126	sands of people worldwide. 2
127	127	(11) President Jimmy Carter asked Muhammad 3
128	128	Ali to meet with African leaders in Tanzania, Kenya, 4
129	129	Nigeria, Liberia, and Senegal as part of the diplo-5
130	130	matic efforts of President Carter to promote human 6
131	131	rights in the 1980s. 7
132	132	(12) In 1990, Muhammad Ali traveled to the 8
133	133	Middle East to seek the release of United States and 9
134	134	British hostages that were being held as human 10
135	135	shields in the first Gulf War. As a result of his 11
136	136	intervention, 15 United States hostages were freed 12
137	137	on December 2nd of that year. 13
138	138	(13) In 1998, Muhammad Ali was chosen as 14
139	139	the ‘‘U.N. Messenger of Peace’’. 15
140	140	(14) Several Presidents of the United States 16
141	141	recognized Muhammad Ali, including President 17
142	142	George W. Bush who, on November 17, 2002, called 18
143	143	him ‘‘a man of peace’’ and stated that ‘‘across the 19
144	144	world, billions of people know Muhammad Ali as a 20
145	145	brave, compassionate, and charming man, and the 21
146	146	American people are proud to call Muhammad Ali 22
147	147	one of our own’’, President Bill Clinton who stated 23
148	148	that Muhammad Ali ‘‘captured the world’s imagina-24
149	149	tion and its heart. Outside the ring, Muhammad Ali 25
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152	152	•HR 485 IH
153	153	has dedicated his life to working for children, feed-1
154	154	ing the hungry, supporting his faith, and standing 2
155	155	up for racial equality. He always fought for a just 3
156	156	and more humane world, breaking down barriers 4
157	157	here in America and around the world. There is no 5
158	158	telling how many tens of millions of people had their 6
159	159	hearts swell with pride and their eyes swell with 7
160	160	tears in 1996 when Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic 8
161	161	torch, because we know, now and forever, he is the 9
162	162	greatest’’, President Jimmy Carter who cited Mu-10
163	163	hammad Ali as ‘‘Mr. International Friendship’’, and 11
164	164	President Barack Obama who, as a Senator, had a 12
165	165	framed picture of Muhammad Ali hanging in his of-13
166	166	fice, and before announcing his intentions to run for 14
167	167	President, Obama visited with Muhammad Ali at the 15
168	168	Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. 16
169	169	(15) Muhammad Ali encouraged humanity 17
170	170	through his perseverance and the support of thou-18
171	171	sands of people. He helped such organizations as the 19
172	172	Chicago-based adoption agency, The Cradle, the 20
173	173	Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Special Olympics’ or-21
174	174	ganization, Best Buddies; and Herbert E. Birch 22
175	175	Services, an organization that runs a school for 23
176	176	handicapped children and young adults, in addition 24
177	177	to a summer camp for children with AIDS. 25
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180	180	•HR 485 IH
181	181	(16) Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie were 1
182	182	the founding directors of the Muhammad Ali Par-2
183	183	kinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and helped raise 3
184	184	over $50,000,000 for Parkinson’s research. The 4
185	185	Center’s mission is to provide excellence in treat-5
186	186	ment, research, and education for patients and fami-6
187	187	lies affected by Parkinson’s disease and other move-7
188	188	ment disorders, regardless of their ability to pay. 8
189	189	(17) Muhammad Ali was an inspiration to 9
190	190	countless individuals with Parkinson’s disease, in-10
191	191	cluding members of the Rock Steady Boxing Foun-11
192	192	dation in Indianapolis, Indiana, which was founded 12
193	193	to give people with Parkinson’s disease hope by im-13
194	194	proving their quality of life using boxing for fitness. 14
195	195	(18) Muhammad Ali was one of the founding 15
196	196	members of Athletes for Hope, an organization cre-16
197	197	ated by a few very successful athletes of exemplary 17
198	198	character who have a deep commitment to charitable 18
199	199	and community causes. 19
200	200	(19) Muhammad Ali also established the Mu-20
201	201	hammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville, 21
202	202	Kentucky, which promotes respect, hope, and under-22
203	203	standing, and inspires people everywhere to be as 23
204	204	great as they can be. A visitor of the Muhammad Ali 24
205	205	Center experiences the ‘‘hows’’ of Ali’s life: How he 25
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208	208	•HR 485 IH
209	209	found the courage, the dedication, and the discipline 1
210	210	to become a world champion, how he found the con-2
211	211	viction to stand up for what he believed, and how he 3
212	212	turned his passion for excellence in the ring to a 4
213	213	passion for peace on the world stage. 5
214	214	(20) Like Muhammad Ali himself, the Muham-6
215	215	mad Ali Center focuses on what brings individuals 7
216	216	together, not what sets them apart, and is a ‘‘global 8
217	217	gathering place’’ to which people can come, both on-9
218	218	line and in person, to learn, share, and celebrate our 10
219	219	commonalities as human beings and to formulate 11
220	220	ways of advancing humanity. 12
221	221	(21) Muhammad Ali helped to provide more 13
222	222	than 22,000,000 aid packets to assist people in 14
223	223	need, and until the last years of his life, he traveled, 15
224	224	on average, more than 200 days per year for human-16
225	225	itarian causes. 17
226	226	(22) Muhammad Ali, known simply as ‘‘the 18
227	227	greatest’’, transcended the glamour and glory of 19
228	228	being a sports champion to become not only one of 20
229	229	the greatest sports figures, but one of the greatest 21
230	230	role models of our time. 22
231	231	(23) On June 3, 2016, Muhammad Ali died at 23
232	232	the age of 74. 24
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235	235	•HR 485 IH
236	236	SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 1
237	237	(a) P
238	238	RESENTATIONAUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 2
239	239	the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-3
240	240	pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 4
241	241	for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 5
242	242	medal of appropriate design to Muhammad Ali, in recogni-6
243	243	tion of his contributions to the United States. 7
244	244	(b) D
245	245	ESIGN ANDSTRIKING.—For the purpose of the 8
246	246	presentation described in subsection (a), the Secretary of 9
247	247	the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 10
248	248	shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, 11
249	249	and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary. 12
250	250	(c) T
251	251	RANSFER OFMEDALAFTERPRESENTATION.— 13
252	252	Following the presentation of the gold medal in honor of 14
253	253	Muhammad Ali under subsection (a), the gold medal shall 15
254	254	be given to his wife, Lonnie Ali. 16
255	255	SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 17
256	256	The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 18
257	257	bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 at 19
258	258	a price sufficient to cover the cost of the medals, including 20
259	259	labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead ex-21
260	260	penses. 22
261	261	SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 23
262	262	(a) N
263	263	ATIONALMEDALS.—Medals struck under this 24
264	264	Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 25
265	265	31, United States Code. 26
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268	268	•HR 485 IH
269	269	(b) NUMISMATICITEMS.—For purposes of sections 1
270	270	5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 2
271	271	struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 3
272	272	items. 4
273	273	SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 5
274	274	SALE. 6
275	275	(a) A
276	276	UTHORITYTOUSEFUNDAMOUNTS.—There is 7
277	277	authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 8
278	278	Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-9
279	279	essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 10
280	280	this Act. 11
281	281	(b) P
282	282	ROCEEDS OFSALE.—Amounts received from the 12
283	283	sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 13
284	284	4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 14
285	285	Enterprise Fund. 15
286	286	Æ
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