,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #bgad ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #ai1 #bjah,mr4 ,cornyn 7for himself and ,mr4 ,cruz7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to award a ,congressional ,gold ,medal to ,don and ,deyon ,stephens1 ,founders of ,mercy ,ships1 in recognition of nearly #dj years of service as the leaders of a humanitarian relief organization that exemplifies the compassionate character of ,america4 #a4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,mercy ,ships was founded in #aigh and has worked in more than #gj countries1 providing services valued at more than #a4c billion1 treating more than #b4ef million direct beneficiaries4 7#b7 ,mercy ,ships owns and operates the world's largest private hospital ship1 the ,africa ,mercy that has five state-of-the-art operating rooms and ward bed space for #hb patients4 7#c7 ,mercy ,ships vessels are staffed by professional volunteer crew including surgeons1 nurses1 doctors1 dentists1 cooks1 engineers1 agriculturalists1 teachers1 and others4 7#d7 ,mercy ,ships has performed more than #hb1jjj life-changing or life-saving operations such as cleft lip and palate repair1 cataract removal1 orthopedic procedures1 facial reconstruction1 obstetric fistula repair1 and tumor removal4 7#e7 ,mercy ,ships has treated over #adg1jjj dental patients including over #cij1jjj dental procedures4 7#f7 ,mercy ,ships has trained more than #e1ijj local professionals 7including surgeons7 who have in turn trained many others4 7#g7 ,mercy ,ships has trained over #ch1ajj local professionals in their area of expertise including anesthesiology1 midwifery1 sterilization1 orthopedic and reconstructive surgery1 and leadership1 thereby increasing medical capacity in the host nation4 7#h7 ,mercy ,ships has taught over #aih1jjj local people in basic health care4 7#i7 ,mercy ,ships has completed over #a1ajj infrastructure development projects focusing on water and sanitation education1 agriculture and construction projects which improve local health care delivery systems4 7#aj7 ,annually1 ,mercy ,ships has over #a1fjj volunteers who help in locations around the world1 #ijj of which serve in ,africa4 ,at any given time1 there are more than #djj crew from #dj nations onboard the ,africa ,mercy4 7#aa7 ,the ,africa ,mercy alone has had over #d1ijj crew from #gd countries serve onboard since its inception in #bjjg4 ,in addition1 more than #iej local ,day ,workers from #ab different countries have served alongside since it first docked in ,africa4 7#ab7 ,mercy ,ships has served some of the world's poorest populations and completed over #ehi port visits in #ee developing nations and #ah developed nations for a total of #gc nations including3 ,australia1 ,bahamas1 ,benin1 ,belgium1 ,belize1 ,brazil1 ,canada1 ,china1 ,congo ,brazzaville1 ,columbia1 ,cuba1 ,denmark1 ,dominican ,republic1 ,el ,salvador1 ,estonia1 ,faroe ,islands1 ,fiji1 ,france1 ,gabon1 ,the ,gambia1 ,germany1 ,ghana1 ,greece1 ,grenada1 ,guatemala1 ,guinea 7,west ,africa71 ,guinea-,bissau1 ,guyana1 ,haiti1 ,honduras1 ,italy1 ,ivory ,coast1 ,jamaica1 ,korea1 ,latvia1 ,liberia1 ,lithuania1 ,madagascar1 ,malta1 ,mexico1 ,montserrat1 ,the ,netherlands1 ,new ,caledonia1 ,new ,zealand1 ,nicaragua1 ,norway1 ,panama1 ,papua ,new ,guinea1 ,philippines1 ,poland1 ,russia1 ,samoa1 ,senegal1 ,sierra ,leone1 ,solomon ,islands1 ,south ,africa1 ,spain1 ,st4 ,eustatius 7,,nl71 ,st4 ,kitts1 ,st4 ,thomas1 ,st4 ,vincent1 ,sweden1 ,tahiti1 ,togo1 ,tonga1 ,trinidad1 the ,united ,kingdom1 the ,united ,states1 and ,vanuatu4 7#ac7 ,through the years1 ,mercy ,ships has had four hospital ships that have served in some of the poorest ports in the world4 ,those include3 7,a7 ,the #af1ejj-ton ,africa ,mercy is the world's largest nongovernmental hospital ship and is dedicated to the continent of ,africa4 7,b7 ,the #ebb-;foot ,anastasis was the flag ship1 and completed her first relief mission in #aihb to ,guatemala4 ,her crew of #djj worked in ,africa until she was decommissioned in #bjjg4 7,c7 ,acquired in #aiid1 the #bfe-;foot ,caribbean ,mercy with her crew of #aej focused on the ,caribbean basin and ,central ,america with its ,eye ,surgery ,unit4 ,the ship was sold in #bjjf4 7,d7 ,donated in #aihc1 the #agb-;foot ,good ,samaritan served the ,caribbean1 ,central and ,south ,america for #aa years with a crew of #fj4 ,renamed the ,island ,mercy1 she was redeployed to the ,south ,pacific in #aiid and served there until sold in #bjja4 7,e7 ,mercy ,ships is currently building a new hospital ship to serve ,africa's most needy for the next #ej years with delivery expected in #bjah4 ,the new vessel1 larger than the ,africa ,mercy1 will assume the title of world's largest private hospital ship with increased capacity building and a focus on healthcare training4 ,it will also further the commitment of ,mercy ,ships to provide and promote through teaching1 safe surgery globally as demonstrated by their membership in the ,g#d ,alliance4 7#ad7 ,mercy ,ships has hosted ,presidents and other heads of state from many nations around the world onboard their hospital ships who commended the free health care provided to their people4 7#ae7 ,mercy ,ships has been endorsed by ,president ,nelson ,mandela1 ,president ,george ,bush1 ,desmond ,tutu1 ,president ,ellen ,johnson ,sirleaf1 ,sir ,john ,major1 ,president ,dr4 ,ernest ,bai ,koroma1 ,tony ,blair1 ,president ,jimmy ,carter and ,first ,lady ,mary ,flake de ,flores4 #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 ,congress1 of a gold medal of appropriate design to ,don and ,deyon ,stephens1 ,founders of ,mercy ,ships4 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