,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cig  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,february #bg1 #bjac
 ,mr4 ,nelson 7for himself1 ,ms4        
,collins1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 and ,mr4   
,schumer7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1   
and ,urban ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
posthumously award a ,congressional     
,gold ,medal to ,lena ,horne in         
recognition of her achievements and     
contributions to ,american culture and  
the civil rights movement4  #a4 ,short  
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,lena ,horne ,recognition ,act4  #b4    
,findings ,the ,congress finds as       
follows3  7#a7 ,lena ,mary ,calhoun     
,horne was born on ,june #cj1 #aiag1 in 
,brooklyn1 ,new ,york4 ,at the age of   
#af1 ,lena ,horne was hired as a dancer 
in the chorus of ,harlem's famous       
,cotton ,club1 where she was introduced 
to such legendary jazz performers as    
,duke ,ellington1 ,cab ,calloway1 ,count

 ,basie1 ,ethel ,waters1 and ,billie    
,holiday4  7#b7 ,in #aidj1 she became   
one of the first ,african-,american     
women to perform with an all-,white band
 when she toured with ,charlie ,barnet's
 jazz band as its featured singer4  7#c7
 ,she was discovered by a               
,metro-,goldwyn-,mayer 7,,mgm7 talent   
scout and became the first              
,african-,american artist to sign a     
long-term contract with a major studio4 
7#d7 ,despite her extraordinary beauty  
and talent1 ,lena ,horne was often      
limited to minor acting roles because of
 her race4  7#e7 ,scenes in which she   
did sing were cut out when they were    
sent to local distributors in the ,south
 and studio executives cast another     
actress as ,julie in the film version of
 ,show ,boat instead of ,lena ,horne    
because they did not want the show to   
star an ,african-,american actress4     
,however1 ,lena ,horne dazzled audiences
 and critics in a number of films1      
including ,cabin in the ,sky and ,stormy

 ,weather4  7#f7 ,during ,world ,war    
,,ii1 ,lena ,horne toured extensively   
with the ,united ,service ,organizations
 7,,uso7 on the ,west ,coast and in the 
,south in support of the troops and     
expressed outrage about the way         
,african-,american soldiers were        
treated4  7#g7 ,she refused to sing for 
segregated audiences or to groups in    
which ,german prisoners of war were     
seated in front of ,african-,american   
servicemen4  7#h7 ,during the period of 
,mc,carthyism in the #aiejs1 ,lena      
,horne was blacklisted as a communist   
for #g years because of her civil rights
 activism and friendship with ,paul     
,robeson and ,w4,e4,b4 ,du ,bois4  7#i7 
,in #aieg1 ,lena ,horne recorded ,lena  
,horne at the ,waldorf-,astoria1 which  
reached the ,top #aj and became the     
best-selling album by a female singer in
 ,,rca ,victor's history4  7#aj7 ,lena  
,horne rose to international stardom and
 toured the world1 sharing the stage    
with such names as ,count ,basie1 ,tony 

,bennett1 ,billy ,eckstine1 ,vic        
,damone1 and ,harry ,belafonte1 and also
 starred in musical and television      
specials with such giants as ,judy      
,garland1 ,bing ,crosby1 and ,frank     
,sinatra4  7#aa7 ,lena ,horne used her  
fame to become a powerful voice for     
civil rights and equality4  7#ab7 ,in   
#aifc1 she participated in the historic 
,march on ,washington for ,jobs and     
,freedom1 at which ,dr4 ,martin ,luther 
,king1 ,jr4 delivered his immortal ,i   
,have a ,dream speech4  7#ac7 ,lena     
,horne also performed at rallies        
throughout the country for the ,national
 ,council for ,negro ,women and worked  
with the ,national ,association for the 
,advancement of ,colored ,people        
7,,naacp71 of which she was a member    
from the age of #b1 the ,delta ,sigma   
,theta sorority1 and the ,urban ,league4
  7#ad7 ,through the end of the #bjth   
century1 ,lena ,horne continued to      
entertain large audiences of all ages   
and backgrounds4 ,in #aiha1 she         

captivated audiences with her one-woman 
,broadway show1 ,lena ,horne3 ,the ,lady
 and ,her ,music1 which enjoyed a       
#ad-month run before going on tour1 and 
earned her a special ,tony ,award and   
two ,grammy ,awards4  7#ae7 ,in #bjjb1  
#gc years after the ,academy ,awards    
were first awarded1 ,halle ,berry became
 the first ,african-,american woman to  
win an ,oscar for ,best ,actress and    
recognized in her acceptance speech how 
,lena ,horne paved the way for her and  
other ,african-,american actresses4     
7#af7 ,lena ,horne passed away in ,new  
,york ,city on ,may #i1 #bjaj1 at the   
age of #ib4  7#ag7 ,lena ,horne was an  
entertainer1 activist1 and mother who   
used her beauty1 talent1 and            
intelligence to fight racial            
discrimination and injustice and rise to
 international stardom4  7#ah7 ,a symbol
 of elegance and grace1 she entertained 
people of all walks of life for over #fj
 years1 and broke barriers for future   
generations4  #c4 ,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        
posthumous presentation1 on behalf of   
the ,congress1 of a gold medal of       
appropriate design in commemoration of  
,lena ,horne in recognition of her      
achievements and contributions to       
,american culture and the civil rights  
movement4  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 inscriptions1 to be determined by   
the ,secretary4  #d4 ,duplicate medals  
,the ,secretary may strike and sell     
duplicates in bronze of the gold medal  
struck pursuant to section #b1 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  #e4 ,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      
section #eacd of title #ca1 ,united     
,states ,code1 all medals struck under  
this ,act shall be considered to be     
numismatic items4  #f4 ,authority to use
 fund amounts2 proceeds of sale  7a7    
,authority ,to use fund amounts ,there  
is authorized to be charged against the 
,united ,states ,mint ,public           
,enterprise ,fund1 such amounts as may  
be necessary to pay for the costs of the
 medals struck pursuant to this ,act4   
7b7 ,proceeds of sale ,amounts received 
from the sale of duplicate bronze medals
 authorized under section #d shall be   
deposited into the ,united ,states ,mint
 ,public ,enterprise ,fund4