Sponsors
The bill honors Doris Miller and expands public access to a commemorative medal while delegating production and sales to the Mint with cost‑recovery rules—reducing direct appropriations but creating modest financial and administrative risks for the Mint and taxpayers if sales or operations do not meet expectations.
Members of the public—particularly veterans and African-American communities—gain formal recognition of Doris Miller's WWII heroism, raising public awareness of racial discrimination in military history and honoring military service.
Students, historians, and the public get access to the medal for display and research, supporting education and public history about Miller's valor.
Members of the public and collectors can purchase affordable bronze replicas of the Congressional Gold Medal, allowing families and collectors to obtain tangible keepsakes.
Taxpayers may still be indirectly exposed if sales are lower than expected and the Public Enterprise Fund or other Treasury resources must absorb net production costs.
Limiting replica pricing to recover only production costs restricts potential revenue that could have supported related commemorative programs or other uses.
If demand exceeds supply, a cost-recovery-only sales approach could complicate scaling production or distribution, making it harder for interested members of the public to obtain replicas.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for Doris Miller, directs the Mint to strike it and give it to the Smithsonian, and allows sale of bronze duplicates to cover costs.
Introduced March 25, 2025 by Kweisi Mfume · Last progress March 25, 2025
Creates a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal honoring Doris Miller for his actions during World War II, directs the Treasury/United States Mint to strike the gold medal and deliver it to the Smithsonian Institution for display and research, and expresses a congressional preference that the Smithsonian make the medal available for display at locations associated with Miller. Authorizes the Mint to produce and sell bronze duplicate medals at prices that cover production costs, designates the medals as national numismatic items under federal law, and permits the Mint to charge the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund for striking costs with duplicate-sale proceeds deposited into that Fund.