Sponsors (29)
Official title: To award a Congressional Gold Medal collectively to the Buffalo Soldier regiments, authorized by Congress in 1866 to serve in the United States Armed Forces, in recognition of their superior, dedicated, and vital service to our Nation.
Introduced February 18, 2025 by Marilyn Strickland · Last progress February 18, 2025
The bill honors Buffalo Soldiers with a national medal and expands public access and education while keeping direct federal appropriations low by using Mint authorities and sales — but it imposes modest taxpayer and administrative costs, risks to Mint fund resources if sales fall short, and does not provide direct material benefits to veterans or descendants.
Buffalo Soldiers, their descendants, and Black veterans receive formal national recognition through a Congressional Gold Medal honoring their service.
The medal will be placed in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and made available for loans and display, increasing public access, scholarship, and educational use about Black military history.
The public (collectors and ordinary citizens) can purchase affordable bronze replicas, expanding access to the memorial and enabling broader public engagement.
Veterans and descendants get symbolic recognition but no new material benefits (pensions, healthcare, or direct financial assistance) from this legislation.
There are direct federal costs (designing, striking, curation, transportation, and administration) for producing and maintaining the medals that ultimately are borne by taxpayers.
Using the Mint’s Public Enterprise Fund to cover costs could divert resources or impose opportunity costs on other Mint programs and operations.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Congress awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the Buffalo Soldier regiments, directs the Mint to strike it, places it at the Smithsonian, and permits sale of bronze duplicates to cover costs.
Awards a single Congressional Gold Medal to the Buffalo Soldier regiments in recognition of their military service, directs the U.S. Mint to strike the medal and the National Museum of African American History and Culture to receive and display it, and authorizes sale of bronze duplicates to cover production costs. It treats the medals as national numismatic items and allows the Mint to charge its Public Enterprise Fund for striking costs, with net proceeds from duplicates deposited back into that Fund.