,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cjcd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #bc1 #bjag ,mr4 ,newhouse 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,peterson1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,mr4 ,david ,scott of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,del,bene1 ,mrs4 ,walorski1 ,ms4 ,jenkins of ,kansas1 ,mr4 ,kind1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mr4 ,loebsack1 ,mr4 ,westerman1 ,mr4 ,norcross1 ,mr4 ,delaney1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,turner1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,mr4 ,walz1 ,mr4 ,posey1 ,mr4 ,beyer1 ,mr4 ,gosar1 ,mr4 ,jody ,b4 ,hice of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,jenkins of ,west ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,palazzo1 ,mr4 ,young of ,iowa1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,stewart1 ,mr4 ,moolenaar1 ,mr4 ,royce of ,california1 ,mr4 ,abraham1 ,mr4 ,bost1 ,mrs4 ,mc,morris ,rodgers1 ,mr4 ,lucas1 ,mr4 ,shimkus1 ,mr4 ,la,malfa1 ,mr4 ,lamborn1 ,mr4 ,rouzer1 and ,mr4 ,conaway7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,house ,administration1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to posthumously award a ,congressional gold medal to ,justin ,smith ,morrill1 ,united ,states ,senator of the ,state of ,vermont1 in recognition of his lasting contributions to higher education opportunity for all ,americans4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,justin ,smith ,morrill ,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds that3 7#a7 ,justin ,smith ,morrill1 the son of a blacksmith and farmer1 was born in ,strafford1 ,vermont1 on ,april #ad1 #ahaj4 ,he prospered as a merchant and businessman in his early years and served in public office the remainder of his life4 7#b7 ,morrill1 the longest serving ,member of ,congress in the ,nineteenth ,century and ,chairman of the ,committee on ,ways and ,means in the ,united ,states ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,finance in the ,united ,states ,senate1 served #e terms in the ,united ,states ,house of ,representatives1 from #ahed to #ahfi1 and #f terms in the ,united ,states ,senate1 from #ahgb to #ahih4 7#c7 ,morrill1 inspired by his own lack of public education opportunity beyond his fifteenth birthday1 proposed legislation that would set aside public lands to be sold by the states to create and fund ,state-run colleges4 7#d7 ,congress enacted the ,first ,morrill ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #cja et seq47 on ,july #b1 #ahfb1 marking the genesis of the national focus on higher education in the ,united ,states through the establishment of the land-grant institutions4 7#e7 ,congress enacted the ,second ,morrill ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #cba et seq47 on ,august #cj1 #ahij1 establishing what is now a flourishing system of historically ,black land-grant colleges and universities across the nation4 7#f7 ,land-grant and other public research universities today award nearly #a1jjj1jjj degrees annually and perform more than #cg1jjj1jjj1jjj of research for improving the lives of ,americans4 7#g7 ,in #ahfd1 ,morrill introduced ,house ,joint ,resolution #ff which created the ,national ,statuary ,hall from the ,old ,hall of the ,u4,s4 ,house of ,representatives and authorized the ,president of the ,united ,states to invite ,states to submit two statues of worthy citizens to be exhibited1 which continues as a daily inspiration to the thousands of visitors to the ,united ,states ,capitol4 7#h7 ,as chairman of the ,committee on ,buildings and ,grounds1 ,morrill served as principal advocate for the construction and financing of the ,thomas ,jefferson ,building of the ,library of ,congress2 for inviting ,frederick ,law ,olmstead to design the present landscape of the ,capitol2 for planning the location of the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court ,building2 for raising funds to complete the ,washington ,monument2 and for championing the ,smithsonian ,institution4 7#i7 ,in delivering his last speech as ,senator just two weeks before his death1 ,morrill noted that the location of the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court in close proximity to the ,united ,states ,capitol and the ,library of ,congress would form a harmonious group of large public structures on ,capitol ,hill of unequaled grandeur1 and will be appreciated by the ,american people forever4 7#aj7 ,in his #ahhb book ,self-,consciousness of ,noted ,persons1 ,morrill concluded1 ,the spur to acquire some future reputation1 to be earned by conscious fidelity1 keeps the work of men always at its best1 the mechanic at the top of his skill1 the merchant ever mindful of the upright and downright in trade2 the pulpit and the bar it pushes on to effort and to eloquence2 it makes the soldier brave in battle1 the politician ashamed not be a patriot1 and the statesman unwilling to give up to party what was meant for mankind44 7#aa7 ,after ,morrill died on ,december #bh1 #ahih1 eulogies extolled ,morrill's leadership1 integrity and good-will1 including the comments of ,senator ,george ,graham ,vest of ,missouri who stated1 ,if all those to whom he did acts of kindness could whisper across his grave1 it would make an anthem sweeter and more sonorous than any that ever pealed through cathedral aisle and those of ,senator ,george ,hoar of ,massachusetts who recalled that ,justin ,morrill1 knew in his youth the veterans of the ,revolution and the generation who declared independence and framed the ,constitution4 ,he knew the whole history of his country from the time of her independence1 partly from the lips of those who shaped it1 partly because of the large share he had in it himself44 #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 ,justin ,smith ,morrill in recognition of his lasting contributions to higher education opportunity for all ,americans4 7b7 ,design and striking ,for the purpose of the presentation referred to in subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7hereafter in this ,act referred to as the ,secretary7 shall strike a gold medal with-- 7#a7 an inscription stating ,a ,statesman who did not give up to party what was intended for humankind2 and 7#b7 suitable emblems1 devices1 and inscriptions to be determined by the ,secretary4 7c7 ,smithsonian 7#a7 ,in general ,following the award of the gold medal in honor of ,justin ,smith ,morrill under subsection 7a71 the gold medal shall be given to the ,smithsonian1 where it shall be available for display as appropriate and made available for research4 7#b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,smithsonian should make the gold medal received under paragraph 7#a7 available for display or for loan as appropriate so that it may be displayed elsewhere1 particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the life of ,justin ,smith ,morrill4 #d4 ,duplicate medals ,the ,secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section #c 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