,i  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dch  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #ba1 #bjae  
,mr4 ,gene ,green of ,texas 7for        
himself1 ,mr4 ,mc,caul1 ,ms4 ,jackson   
,lee1 and ,ms4 ,de,lauro7 introduced the
 following bill2 which was referred to  
the ,committee on ,financial ,services  
,a ,,bill  ,to award a ,congressional   
,gold ,medal to ,joanne ,king ,herring  
and posthumously to each of ,charles    
,charlie ,wilson and ,gustav ,lascaris  
,gust ,avrakotos1 in recognition of     
their personal sacrifice and service to 
the country4  #a4 ,findings ,congress   
finds the following3 7#a7 ,charlie      
,wilson1 ,gust ,avrakotos and ,joanne   
,king ,herring played a critical role in
 ending the ,soviet ,union's invasion of
 ,afghanistan1 which ultimately was a   
factor leading to the collapse of the   
,soviet ,union4  7#b7 ,charlie ,wilson  
was elected to ,congress in #aigb from  
the #bnd ,congressional ,district of    
,texas and served until he retired in   

#aiif4 ,he was a member of the ,house   
,appropriations ,committee4  7#c7 ,gust 
,avrakotos joined the ,central          
,intelligence ,agency 7,,cia7 in #aifb  
and his assignments included a mission  
in ,greece and duty in the ,,cia's      
,langley1 ,virginia1 headquarters4      
,while at ,langley1 ,gust ,avrakotos    
oversaw the largest covert operation in 
the ,,cia's history to defeat the       
,soviet ,union in ,afghanistan4  7#d7   
,joanne ,king ,herring is a private     
citizen and humanitarian who currently  
resides in ,houston1 ,texas4  7#e7 ,a   
few months after the ,soviet invasion of
 ,afghanistan in #aigi1 ,joanne ,king   
,herring risked her life by traveling to
 ,afghanistan to film the atrocities    
that the ,soviet soldiers were          
inflicting on the ,afghan people4  7#f7 
,joanne ,king ,herring shared her film  
with prominent current and former public
 officials1 including then ,vice        
,president ,george ,h4,w4 ,bush1 then   
,,cia chief ,william ,casey and ,henry  

,kissinger4  7#g7 ,congressman ,charlie 
,wilson was a vocal opponent of the     
,soviet invasion of ,afghanistan and    
secured appropriations over several     
years for the ,,cia's covert operation  
to fund the ,afghan resistance4  7#h7   
,joanne ,king ,herring arranged for     
,charlie ,wilson to travel with her to  
,pakistan to visit ,afghan refugee camps
 in #aihb4 ,after witnessing the        
physical harm caused by the ,soviets to 
the ,afghan people1 ,charlie ,wilson was
 further determined to secure funding   
for the resistance movement4  7#i7 ,in  
#aihd1 ,,cia officer ,gustav ,avrakotos 
contacted ,charlie ,wilson1 breaking the
 ,,cia's policy against lobbying        
,congress for money1 and asked ,wilson  
for additional funding to support the   
,,cia's covert operation in             
,afghanistan1 which ,gustav ,avrakotos  
was leading4  7#aj7 ,the covert         
operation was successful and the ,soviet
 ,union withdrew from ,afghanistan in   
#aihi4  7#aa7 ,the heroic efforts of    

,charlie ,wilson1 ,joanne ,king ,herring
 and ,gustav ,avrakotos played a key    
role in leading to the collapse of the  
,soviet ,union in #aiia4  #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 design to ,joanne ,king 
,herring1 and posthumous presentation of
 such a medal to each of ,charles       
,charlie ,wilson and ,gustav ,lascaris  
,gust ,avrakotos1 in recognition of     
their personal sacrifice and service to 
the country4  7b7 ,design and striking  
,for the purposes of the award referred 
to in subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of 
the ,treasury 7hereafter in this ,act   
referred to as the ,secretary7 shall    
strike the gold medals with suitable    
emblems1 devices1 and inscriptions1 to  
be determined by the ,secretary4  7c7   

,award of medal ,following the          
presentation of the gold medals referred
 to in subsection 7a71 the medals for   
,charles ,wilson and ,gustav ,avrakotos 
shall be awarded respectively to        
,barbara ,ablerstadt ,wilson and        
,claudette ,m4 ,avrakotos1 the wives of 
the deceased4  #c4 ,duplicate medals    
,the ,secretary may strike and sell     
duplicates in bronze of the gold medals 
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 medals4  #d4 ,status of medals  7a7
 ,national medals ,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     

numismatic items4