,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cfee  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #d1        
#bjac,mr4 ,ryan of ,ohio 7for himself   
and ,mr4 ,joyce7 introduced the         
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,financial ,services  
,a ,,bill  ,to award a ,congressional   
,gold ,medal to ,simeon ,booker in      
recognition of his achievements in the  
field of journalism1 including reporting
 during the ,civil ,rights movement1 as 
well as social and political commentary4
  #a4 ,findings ,congress finds the     
following3 7#a7 ,simeon ,saunders       
,booker1 ,jr41 was born on ,august #bg1 
#aiah1 in ,baltimore1 ,maryland1 to     
,reberta ,waring and ,simeon ,saunders  
,booker1 ,sr41 a ,,ymca director and    
minister4  7#b7 ,after his family moved 
to ,youngstown1 ,ohio1 ,booker became   
interested in journalism4  7#c7 ,booker 
promoted and wrote about ,negro ,league 
baseball teams in ,youngstown's local   
newspaper1 ,the ,vindicator4  7#d7 ,in  

#aide1 he moved back to ,ohio to work   
for the ,call and ,post1 where he became
 the first ,african-,american reporter  
to win a ,newspaper ,guild ,award for   
his series on ,cleveland1 ,ohio1 slum   
housing1 and a ,willkie ,award for      
reporting on racial inequities in the   
public schools4  7#e7 ,in #aiej1 ,booker
 was the recipient of the ,nieman       
,fellowship from ,harvard ,university to
 study journalism and develop his talent
 as a reporter4  7#f7 ,after leaving    
,harvard in #aiea1 ,booker became the   
first full-time ,african-,american      
reporter at ,the ,washington ,post4     
7#g7 ,in #aiee1 he helped to advance the
 civil rights movement with his famous  
coverage of the ,emmett ,till murder and
 trial1 turning a common occurrence in  
the ,deep ,south into a national tragedy
 that united the black community4  7#h7 
,he remained at the forefront of the    
civil rights movement1 reporting on the 
#aieg integration of ,central ,high     
,school in ,little ,rock1 ,arkansas4    

7#i7 ,in #aifa1 he rode with the        
,congress on ,racial ,equality 7,,core7 
,freedom ,riders through the ,deep      
,south4  7#aj7 ,when the ,freedom       
,riders were firebombed and beaten in   
,anniston1 ,alabama1 in a ,ku ,klux     
,klan ambush1 ,booker arranged for their
 rescue by calling ,u4,s4 ,attorney     
,general ,robert ,f4 ,kennedy4  7#aa7   
,in two wartime tours of ,vietnam in the
 #aifj's1 he interviewed ,black troops  
on the front lines1 and took enemy fire 
in a helicopter with ,united ,states    
,army ,general ,william ,westmoreland   
for reports for ,jet and ,ebony         
magazines4  7#ab7 ,he has chronicled the
 most tumultuous period in ,american    
history in two highly acclaimed books1  
,shocking the ,conscience3 ,a           
,reporter's ,account of the ,civil      
,rights ,movement 7,university ,press of
 ,mississippi1 #bjac71 and ,black ,man's
 ,america 7,prentice ,hall1 #aifd74     
7#ac7 ,often called the dean of the     
black press1 as chief of ,ebony and ,jet

 magazines' ,washington bureau1 he      
interviewed presidents1 senators and    
representatives1 members of the         
judiciary1 cabinet officers1 foreign    
ambassadors1 and other important members
 of the ,washington community4 ,his     
column1 ,ticker ,tape ,u4,s4,a41 became 
a must-read for politicians and         
government officials4  7#ad7 ,he covered
 every ,presidential election since the 
,eisenhower ,administration in his      
fifty-three years with ,johnson         
,publishing until he retired in #bjjg4  
7#ae7 ,in #aihb1 ,booker received one of
 the most prestigious awards in         
journalism1 the ,national ,press ,club's
 ,fourth ,estate ,award4  7#af7 ,his    
honors and awards include3 ,nieman      
,fellowship1 ,harvard ,university #aiej2
 elected president of the ,capitol      
,press ,club1 #aief2 ,fourth ,estate    
,award1 ,national ,press ,club1 #aihb2  
inducted into ,hall of ,fame1           
,washington ,chapter of ,sigma ,delta   
,chi1 and ,hall of ,fame of ,washington1

 ,d4,c41 #aihd2 ,master ,communicators  
,award1 ,national ,black ,media         
,coalition1 #aiih2 ,phoenix ,award1     
,congressional ,black ,caucus           
,foundation1 #bjaj2 inducted into ,hall 
of ,fame1 ,national ,association of     
,black ,journalists1 #bjac4  #b4        
,congressional ,gold ,medal  7a7        
,presentation authorized ,the ,speaker  
of the ,house of ,representatives and   
the ,president ,pro ,tempore of the     
,senate shall make appropriate          
arrangements for the presentation1 on   
behalf of the ,congress1 of a gold medal
 of appropriate design1 to ,simeon      
,saunders ,booker1 ,jr41 in recognition 
of his achievements in the field of     
journalism1 including reporting during  
the ,civil ,rights movement1 as well as 
social and political commentary4  7b7   
,design and striking ,for purposes of   
the presentation referred to in         
subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of the   
,treasury 7referred to in this ,act as  
the ,secretary7 shall strike a gold     

medal with suitable emblems1 devices1   
and inscriptions to be determined by the
 ,secretary4  #c4 ,duplicate medals ,the
 ,secretary may strike and sell         
duplicates in bronze of the gold medal  
struck pursuant to section #b under such
 regulations as the ,secretary may      
prescribe1 at a price sufficient to     
cover the cost thereof1 including labor1
 materials1 dies1 use of machinery1 and 
overhead expenses1 and the cost of the  
gold medal4  #d4 ,status of medals  7a7 
,national medals ,the medals struck     
pursuant to this ,act are national      
medals for purposes of chapter #ea of   
title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4  7b7  
,numismatic ,items ,for purposes of     
sections #eacd and #eacf of title #ca1  
,united ,states ,code1 all medals struck
 under this ,act shall be considered to 
be numismatic items4