Sponsors (30)
The bill formally honors Korematsu and educates the public by placing his medal in the Smithsonian and authorizing replica sales while structuring those sales to be cost-recovering through the Mint—providing symbolic redress and clearer federal handling but offering no new legal remedies and imposing modest administrative, pricing, and oversight trade-offs.
The Smithsonian (and therefore the general public, students, and researchers) will receive and display Fred Korematsu’s congressional gold medal, preserving and amplifying his civil-rights legacy and educating Americans about Japanese American incarceration during WWII.
Congressional findings formally acknowledge government misconduct and constitutional violations against Japanese Americans during WWII, reinforcing public awareness of civil-rights abuses and supporting norms of government transparency and accountability.
The public can purchase bronze duplicate medals (replicas), making the commemorative item accessible to collectors and citizens who want to honor Korematsu and support public history.
Survivors and descendants receive no new legal remedies or statutory relief from this Act; it is declaratory and commemorative rather than a source of compensation or enforcement.
Administering, pricing, producing, and selling replicas under statutory and numismatic rules imposes modest administrative burdens and potential costs on the Mint, the Secretary, and other federal staff (staff time, contracting, and program management).
Routing revenue and expense recovery through the Mint’s Public Enterprise Fund reduces the need for appropriations but could modestly lessen direct congressional visibility and oversight of these receipts and expenditures.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Awards a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal to Fred Korematsu, directs the Mint to produce it, gives the medal to the Smithsonian, and authorizes sale of bronze duplicates to cover costs.
Introduced January 28, 2025 by Mark Takano · Last progress January 28, 2025
Creates a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal honoring Fred Korematsu, directs the U.S. Mint to strike a gold medal bearing his image and name, and requires presentation of the medal on behalf of Congress. The act transfers the medal to the Smithsonian for preservation and public display and directs the Mint to produce and sell bronze duplicate medals to cover production costs. The bill also records congressional findings about Korematsu’s life and the World War II exclusion and detention of Japanese Americans, treats the medals as national numismatic items under federal law, and authorizes the Mint to charge its Public Enterprise Fund for production costs while depositing proceeds from bronze sales back into that fund.