1 | 1 | | II |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 734 |
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5 | 5 | | To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Edward J. Dwight, Jr., the first |
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6 | 6 | | African American astronaut candidate in the United States. |
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7 | 7 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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8 | 8 | | FEBRUARY25, 2025 |
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9 | 9 | | Mr. B |
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10 | 10 | | ENNET(for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, and Mr. KING) |
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11 | 11 | | introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the |
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12 | 12 | | Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs |
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13 | 13 | | A BILL |
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14 | 14 | | To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Edward J. Dwight, |
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15 | 15 | | Jr., the first African American astronaut candidate in |
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16 | 16 | | the United States. |
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17 | 17 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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18 | 18 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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19 | 19 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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20 | 20 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Edward J. Dwight, 4 |
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21 | 21 | | Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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22 | 22 | | SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 |
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23 | 23 | | Congress finds the following: 7 |
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24 | 24 | | (1) Edward Joseph Dwight, Jr., was born on 8 |
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25 | 25 | | September 9, 1933, to Georgia Baker Dwight and 9 |
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27 | 27 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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29 | 29 | | Edward Dwight, Sr., in Kansas City, Kansas. Ed 1 |
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30 | 30 | | Senior had been a second baseman and center fielder 2 |
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31 | 31 | | for the Kansas City Monarchs and played on other 3 |
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32 | 32 | | all-Black teams from 1924 to 1937. Georgia was a 4 |
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33 | 33 | | devoted mother who enrolled her son in a Head 5 |
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34 | 34 | | Start type program at the age of 2 and made sure 6 |
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35 | 35 | | to expose her children to as much culture as she 7 |
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36 | 36 | | could. 8 |
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37 | 37 | | (2) Edward Joseph Dwight, Jr., grew up with 9 |
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38 | 38 | | a passion for art and airplanes. 10 |
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39 | 39 | | (3) Edward became the first African American 11 |
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40 | 40 | | male to graduate from Bishop Ward Catholic High 12 |
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41 | 41 | | School in 1951. He then earned an associate degree 13 |
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42 | 42 | | in engineering in 1953 from Kansas City Junior 14 |
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43 | 43 | | College. That same year he left to join the Air Force 15 |
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44 | 44 | | and began flight training. 16 |
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45 | 45 | | (4) After completing flight training, he served 17 |
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46 | 46 | | as a military pilot and obtained a degree in aero-18 |
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47 | 47 | | nautical engineering from Arizona State University. 19 |
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48 | 48 | | During his career as an officer in the Air Force, Ed-20 |
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49 | 49 | | ward served at bases in Texas, Missouri, and Ari-21 |
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50 | 50 | | zona, developing technical manuals and training fel-22 |
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51 | 51 | | low pilots on various instruments, as he accumulated 23 |
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52 | 52 | | flight hours. 24 |
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54 | 54 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 |
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55 | 55 | | •S 734 IS |
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56 | 56 | | (5) Edward recalled, ‘‘I was the only Black offi-1 |
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57 | 57 | | cer pilot just about every base I was stationed’’ and 2 |
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58 | 58 | | that even at 5’4’’, he ‘‘got award after award’’. 3 |
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59 | 59 | | While in the Air Force, Edward earned his Bachelor 4 |
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60 | 60 | | of Science in aeronautical engineering from Arizona 5 |
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61 | 61 | | State University in 1957. 6 |
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62 | 62 | | (6) Edward flew some of the most advanced 7 |
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63 | 63 | | aircraft of the era and ultimately accumulated over 8 |
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64 | 64 | | 9,000 hours of flight time, 2,000 in high-perform-9 |
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65 | 65 | | ance jets. His engineering background and extensive 10 |
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66 | 66 | | training opened the door for him to enter the test 11 |
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67 | 67 | | pilot school where the most successful trainees be-12 |
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68 | 68 | | come astronauts. 13 |
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69 | 69 | | (7) Edward was chosen by President John F. 14 |
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70 | 70 | | Kennedy to enter training as an experimental test 15 |
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71 | 71 | | pilot. The Kennedy administration knew that a 16 |
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72 | 72 | | Black astronaut would be an inspiring display of op-17 |
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73 | 73 | | portunity for African Americans across the country. 18 |
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74 | 74 | | (8) On November 4, 1961, Edward received a 19 |
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75 | 75 | | letter inviting him to join the astronaut training pro-20 |
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76 | 76 | | gram. He followed the advice of his mother and ac-21 |
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77 | 77 | | cepted the invitation to take the first steps toward 22 |
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78 | 78 | | improving diversity and talent in the United States 23 |
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79 | 79 | | space program by becoming the first African Amer-24 |
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80 | 80 | | ican astronaut candidate in the United States. 25 |
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82 | 82 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 |
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83 | 83 | | •S 734 IS |
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84 | 84 | | (9) Edward went to the Aerospace Research 1 |
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85 | 85 | | Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in Cali-2 |
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86 | 86 | | fornia to begin training. 3 |
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87 | 87 | | (10) This was a time of uncertainty where the 4 |
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88 | 88 | | color of a person’s skin mattered more than his or 5 |
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89 | 89 | | her skill. 6 |
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90 | 90 | | (11) The astronaut candidacy of Edwards be-7 |
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91 | 91 | | came cover news on Black magazines such as Jet, 8 |
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92 | 92 | | Ebony, and Sepia. 9 |
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93 | 93 | | (12) At Edwards Air Force Base, however, Ed-10 |
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94 | 94 | | ward experienced prejudice and scorn, as he re-11 |
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95 | 95 | | counted in his autobiography ‘‘Soaring on the Wings 12 |
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96 | 96 | | of a Dream: The Untold Story of America’s First 13 |
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97 | 97 | | Black Astronaut Candidate’’. 14 |
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98 | 98 | | (13) Edward completed the experimental test 15 |
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99 | 99 | | pilot course and entered aerospace research pilot 16 |
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100 | 100 | | training in preparation for astronaut duties. He suc-17 |
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101 | 101 | | cessfully completed the course and continued to per-18 |
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102 | 102 | | form duties as a fully qualified aerospace research 19 |
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103 | 103 | | pilot. 20 |
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104 | 104 | | (14) On October 18, 1963, the National Aero-21 |
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105 | 105 | | nautics and Space Administration (referred to in 22 |
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106 | 106 | | this section as ‘‘NASA’’) announced 14 astronauts 23 |
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107 | 107 | | for Group 3, but Edward did not make the list. 24 |
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109 | 109 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 |
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110 | 110 | | •S 734 IS |
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111 | 111 | | (15) While in training, Edward faced obstacles 1 |
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112 | 112 | | due to his race, which derailed his chance to be the 2 |
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113 | 113 | | first African American in space. His fight for equal-3 |
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114 | 114 | | ity was one of many trailblazing battles happening 4 |
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115 | 115 | | during the Civil Rights Era. 5 |
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116 | 116 | | (16) The assassination of President Kennedy, 6 |
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117 | 117 | | the main sponsor in the White House of Edward 7 |
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118 | 118 | | and the space journey, led to his voluntary separa-8 |
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119 | 119 | | tion from the Air Force. 9 |
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120 | 120 | | (17) In 1966, Edward resigned from the Air 10 |
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121 | 121 | | Force as a captain and moved to Denver, Colorado. 11 |
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122 | 122 | | (18) After the Kennedy assassination, pressure 12 |
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123 | 123 | | on NASA to fly a Black astronaut waned, and the 13 |
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124 | 124 | | first African American would not fly in space until 14 |
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125 | 125 | | Guion Bluford flew with the crew of NASA’s eighth 15 |
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126 | 126 | | space flight on the Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger 16 |
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127 | 127 | | in 1983. 17 |
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128 | 128 | | (19) After successful careers in the Air Force, 18 |
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129 | 129 | | and as an IBM systems engineer, restauranteur, 19 |
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130 | 130 | | aviation consultant, real estate, and construction en-20 |
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131 | 131 | | trepreneur, Edward dedicated 43 years solely to his 21 |
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132 | 132 | | artistic endeavors. 22 |
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133 | 133 | | (20) In 1974, George Brown, the first African 23 |
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134 | 134 | | American lieutenant governor of Colorado and a 24 |
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135 | 135 | | member of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, 25 |
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137 | 137 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 |
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138 | 138 | | •S 734 IS |
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139 | 139 | | chose Edward to create a bronze bust of him to dis-1 |
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140 | 140 | | play in the Colorado State Capitol. 2 |
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141 | 141 | | (21) Being a neophyte to bronze sculpting, and 3 |
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142 | 142 | | at the age of 42, Edward enrolled at the University 4 |
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143 | 143 | | of Denver in the Masters of Fine Arts program. 5 |
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144 | 144 | | While at the University of Denver, he became pro-6 |
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145 | 145 | | ficient in metal casting and managed the foundry at 7 |
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146 | 146 | | the school while also teaching other students. He re-8 |
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147 | 147 | | ceived his Master of Fine Arts in 1977. 9 |
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148 | 148 | | (22) In 1975, while at the University of Den-10 |
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149 | 149 | | ver, Edward received a commission from the Colo-11 |
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150 | 150 | | rado Centennial Commission to create a series of 12 |
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151 | 151 | | bronzes depicting the contribution of Blacks to the 13 |
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152 | 152 | | American Frontier West. The series exhibited for 14 |
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153 | 153 | | several years throughout the United States, gaining 15 |
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154 | 154 | | widespread acceptance and critical acclaim. 16 |
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155 | 155 | | (23) In 1979, the National Park Service en-17 |
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156 | 156 | | couraged Edward to create a bronze series por-18 |
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157 | 157 | | traying the history and historical roots of jazz. The 19 |
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158 | 158 | | series was created and entitled ‘‘Jazz: An American 20 |
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159 | 159 | | Art Form’’, which consisted of over 70 bronzes de-21 |
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160 | 160 | | picting the evolution of jazz from its African origins 22 |
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161 | 161 | | to the fusion of contemporary music. 23 |
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162 | 162 | | (24) Since his art career began in 1976, Ed-24 |
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163 | 163 | | ward has become one of most prolific and insightful 25 |
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167 | 167 | | sculptors in the United States. As of the date of en-1 |
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168 | 168 | | actment of this Act, Edward has completed more 2 |
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169 | 169 | | than 115 large-scale commissioned sculpture instal-3 |
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170 | 170 | | lations. His pieces are collected by museums, institu-4 |
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171 | 171 | | tions and art enthusiasts around the world, includ-5 |
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172 | 172 | | ing the Smithsonian. Ed Dwight Studios, Inc., in 6 |
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173 | 173 | | Denver, is now one of the largest privately owned 7 |
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174 | 174 | | production facilities in the western United States. 8 |
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175 | 175 | | (25) Edward is the recipient of numerable liv-9 |
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176 | 176 | | ing legends awards from around the country for his 10 |
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177 | 177 | | achievements in space activities and contributions in 11 |
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178 | 178 | | art and Black history. 12 |
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179 | 179 | | (26) On August 5, 2020, in recognition of his 13 |
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180 | 180 | | accomplishments as a scientist, test pilot, and sculp-14 |
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181 | 181 | | tor, the Space Force inducted him as an honorary 15 |
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182 | 182 | | member. A permanent display is installed at the 16 |
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183 | 183 | | Pentagon in honor of these achievements. 17 |
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184 | 184 | | (27) In a ceremony at the Pentagon, General 18 |
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185 | 185 | | Jay Raymond, Chief of Space Operations of the 19 |
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186 | 186 | | Space Force, presented Edward with the Com-20 |
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187 | 187 | | mander’s Public Service Award and inducted him as 21 |
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188 | 188 | | an honorary member of the Space Force, for his 22 |
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189 | 189 | | contributions to the United States, space, and his-23 |
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190 | 190 | | tory during times of overt racism in the field of 24 |
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191 | 191 | | science. Astronaut Victor Glover honored Edward by 25 |
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195 | 195 | | carrying this award with him to the International 1 |
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196 | 196 | | Space Station during his Crew-1 mission. Despite all 2 |
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197 | 197 | | that he had to overcome, Edward was an example of 3 |
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198 | 198 | | excellence, embarking on a nationwide speaking tour 4 |
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199 | 199 | | encouraging young people to study science, engineer-5 |
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200 | 200 | | ing, and math. 6 |
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201 | 201 | | (28) In 2021, the Minor Planet Center, an or-7 |
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202 | 202 | | ganization affiliated with the International Astro-8 |
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203 | 203 | | nomical Union, named an asteroid after Edward. 9 |
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204 | 204 | | NASA has honored him by sending his sculpture 10 |
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205 | 205 | | ‘‘Pioneer Woman’’ to space on Exploration Flight 11 |
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206 | 206 | | Test-1 in 2014. 12 |
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207 | 207 | | (29) On November 3, 2022, Denver Inter-13 |
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208 | 208 | | national Airport opened an exhibit titled ‘‘Soaring 14 |
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209 | 209 | | on the Wings of a Dream,’’ the title of Edward’s 15 |
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210 | 210 | | book. The exhibit is on the life of Edward, beginning 16 |
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211 | 211 | | with childhood and ending with adulthood. It will be 17 |
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212 | 212 | | on display for 5 months. 18 |
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213 | 213 | | (30) The National Geographic documentary, 19 |
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214 | 214 | | ‘‘The Space Race’’, weaves together the stories of 20 |
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215 | 215 | | Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of so-21 |
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216 | 216 | | cial injustice to reach for the stars, including Ed-22 |
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217 | 217 | | ward, Guion Bluford, Charles Bolden, Mae C. 23 |
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218 | 218 | | Jemison, Victor Glover, among many others, includ-24 |
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219 | 219 | | ing Leland Melvin, one of the producers of the film. 25 |
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222 | 222 | | •S 734 IS |
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223 | 223 | | (31) On May 19, 2024, Edward, sponsored by 1 |
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224 | 224 | | Space for Humanity, finally traveled to space as 1 2 |
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225 | 225 | | of 6 individuals aboard the Blue Origin New 3 |
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226 | 226 | | Shepard rocket, which launched from a private site 4 |
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227 | 227 | | near Van Horn, Texas. At 90 years old, Edward be-5 |
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228 | 228 | | came the oldest person to go to space. 6 |
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229 | 229 | | SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 7 |
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230 | 230 | | (a) P |
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231 | 231 | | RESENTATIONAUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 8 |
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232 | 232 | | the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-9 |
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233 | 233 | | pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 10 |
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234 | 234 | | for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single 11 |
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235 | 235 | | gold medal of appropriate design to Edward J. Dwight, 12 |
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236 | 236 | | the first African-American astronaut candidate in the 13 |
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237 | 237 | | United States, in recognition of— 14 |
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238 | 238 | | (1) his historic service to the United States; 15 |
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239 | 239 | | (2) the example of excellence during times of 16 |
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240 | 240 | | struggle and overt racism; and 17 |
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241 | 241 | | (3) his contributions in art and Black history. 18 |
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242 | 242 | | (b) D |
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243 | 243 | | ESIGN ANDSTRIKING.—For purposes of the 19 |
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244 | 244 | | presentation described in subsection (a), the Secretary of 20 |
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245 | 245 | | the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 21 |
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246 | 246 | | shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, 22 |
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247 | 247 | | and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. The 23 |
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248 | 248 | | design shall bear an image of, and an inscription of the 24 |
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249 | 249 | | name of, Edward J. Dwight, Jr. 25 |
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253 | 253 | | (c) DISPOSITION OFMEDAL.—Following the presen-1 |
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254 | 254 | | tation described in subsection (a), the gold medal shall be 2 |
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255 | 255 | | given to Edward J. Dwight, Jr., or, if unavailable, to Cur-3 |
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256 | 256 | | tis Christopher Dwight. 4 |
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257 | 257 | | SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 5 |
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258 | 258 | | The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 6 |
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259 | 259 | | bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 7 |
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260 | 260 | | sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including labor, mate-8 |
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261 | 261 | | rials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 9 |
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262 | 262 | | SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 10 |
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263 | 263 | | (a) N |
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264 | 264 | | ATIONALMEDALS.—Medals struck under this 11 |
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265 | 265 | | Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 12 |
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266 | 266 | | 31, United States Code. 13 |
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267 | 267 | | (b) N |
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268 | 268 | | UMISMATICITEMS.—For purposes of sections 14 |
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269 | 269 | | 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 15 |
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270 | 270 | | struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 16 |
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271 | 271 | | items. 17 |
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272 | 272 | | SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 18 |
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273 | 273 | | SALE. 19 |
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274 | 274 | | (a) A |
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275 | 275 | | UTHORITYTOUSEFUNDAMOUNTS.—There is 20 |
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276 | 276 | | authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 21 |
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277 | 277 | | Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-22 |
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278 | 278 | | essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 23 |
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279 | 279 | | this Act. 24 |
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283 | 283 | | (b) PROCEEDS OFSALE.—Amounts received from the 1 |
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284 | 284 | | sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 2 |
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285 | 285 | | 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 3 |
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286 | 286 | | Enterprise Fund. 4 |
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287 | 287 | | Æ |
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