#aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  ,s4   
#bfjg  ,,an ,,act  ,to award a          
,congressional ,gold ,medal to the      
former hostages of the ,iran ,hostage   
,crisis of #aigi-aiha1 highlighting     
their resilience throughout the         
unprecedented ordeal that they lived    
through and the national unity it       
produced1 marking #d decades since their
 #ddd days in captivity1 and recognizing
 their sacrifice to the ,united ,states4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,iran ,hostages            
,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4  #b4  
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,on ,january #bj1 #aiha1 ,united  
,states diplomats1 military personnel1  
and civilians were released after being 
held hostage for #ddd days by militant  
student supporters of ,iran's ,ayatollah
 ,ruhollah ,khomeini in a violation of  
international law4 ,the individuals were
 taken from the ,united ,states ,embassy
 in ,tehran1 ,iran1 and the ordeal came 
to be known as the ,iran ,hostage       

,crisis4  7#b7 ,the hostages were       
subjected to intense physical and       
psychological torture throughout their  
captivity1 such as mock executions1     
beatings1 solitary confinement1 and     
inhospitable living conditions4  7#c7   
,throughout their time held1 the        
hostages were routinely told to denounce
 the ,united ,states and1 when they     
refused1 they were tortured1 but        
remained strong in their spirit4  7#d7  
,one hostage wrote ,viva la roja1       
blanco1 y azul1 which translates to     
,long live the red1 white1 and blue1 on 
the wall of his cell as a reminder of   
the values he swore to protect4  7#e7   
,the hostages showed extraordinary      
courage by continually engaging in acts 
of resistance against their captors1    
such as by refusing to sign             
condemnations of the ,united ,states1 in
 the face of gross violations of their  
human rights4  7#f7 ,many of the        
hostages still experience trauma as a   
result of the events of the crisis and  

deserve to have their suffering         
recognized4  7#g7 ,while1 as of the date
 of enactment of this ,act1 #ce of the  
hostages are living1 it is important    
that the people of the ,united ,states  
reflect on the resilience and strength  
of the hostages1 which serve as an      
example to current generations4  7#h7   
,the people of the ,united ,states      
should-- 7,a7 acknowledge the hostages  
as heroes who-- 7i7 experienced great   
tribulation2 and  7ii7 endured1 so that 
the people of the ,united ,states may   
know the blessing of living in the      
,united ,states2 and  7,b7 strive to    
demonstrate the values shown by the     
hostages4  7#i7 ,on ,january #bb1 #aiha1
 ,president ,jimmy ,carter met with the 
hostages in ,west ,germany and stated   
the following3 ,one of the acts in my   
life which has been the most moving and 
gratifying in meeting with and          
discussing the future and the past with 
the now liberated ,americans who were   
held hostage in ,iran for so long4 ,i   

pointed out to them that1 since their   
capture by the ,iranian terrorists and  
their being held in this despicable act 
of savagery1 that the ,american people's
 hearts have gone out to them and the   
,nation has been united as perhaps never
 before in history and that the prayers 
that have gone up from the people       
throughout the world to ,god for their  
safety have finally been answered44     
7#aj7 ,on ,january #bh1 #aiha1 when     
welcoming the hostages home1 ,president 
,ronald ,reagan stated the following3   
,you've come home to a people who for   
#ddd days suffered the pain of your     
imprisonment1 prayed for your safety1   
and most importantly1 shared your       
determination that the spirit of free   
men and women is not a fit subject for  
barter4 ,you've represented under great 
stress the highest traditions of public 
service4 ,your conduct is symbolic of   
the millions of professional diplomats1 
military personnel1 and others who have 
rendered service to their country44     

7#aa7 ,during the #ddd days the brave   
hostages were held1 the rest of the     
,united ,states held its breath1 waiting
 for news of the hostages4 ,the ,united 
,states hoped and prayed together1 as   
one1 for the hostages' safe return4     
7#ab7 ,bruce ,laingen1 who served as    
,united ,states ,ambassador to ,iran    
from #aigi to #aihj and was the highest 
ranking diplomat held hostage1 summed up
 the experience by saying the following3
 ,fifty-three ,americans who will always
 have a love affair with this country   
and who join with you in a prayer of    
thanksgiving for the way in which this  
crisis has strengthened the spirit and  
resilience and strength that is the mark
 of a truly free society44 ,it is now   
the responsibility of the people of the 
,united ,states to honor the spirit1    
resilience1 and strength that the       
hostages displayed during their #ddd    
days of imprisonment4  7#ac7 ,now1 more 
than #d decades later1 the ,united      
,states continues to honor the hostages4

 ,the recipients of the award bestowed  
by this ,act are heroes in every sense  
of the word4 ,they are role models who  
wore their pride in the ,united ,states 
with esteem and have allowed for        
subsequent generations to appreciate the
 blessing of living in the ,united      
,states4 ,today1 as we mark #dj years   
since their release1 the people of the  
,united ,states acknowledge their       
endurance1 strength1 and contributions  
to seeing a more peaceful world4 ,the   
hostages suffered for the ,united       
,states and now it is the duty of the   
,united ,states to recognize them for   
it4  #c4 ,definition ,in this ,act1 the 
term hostage means a person of the      
,united ,states who was taken captive on
 ,november #d1 #aigi1 in ,tehran1 ,iran1
 at the ,united ,states embassy and     
released on-- 7#a7 ,july #aa1 #aihj2 or 
7#b7 ,january #bj1 #aiha4  #d4          
,congressional ,gold ,medal  7a7 ,award 
authorized ,the ,speaker of the ,house  
of ,representatives and the ,president  

pro tempore of the ,senate shall make   
appropriate arrangements for the award1 
on behalf of ,congress1 of a single gold
 medal of appropriate design to the #ec 
hostages of the ,iran ,hostage ,crisis1 
in recognition of their bravery and     
endurance throughout their captivity1   
which started on ,november #d1 #aigi1   
and lasted until ,january #ba1 #aiha4   
7b7 ,design and striking ,for the       
purposes of the award 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 ,secretary1 in consultation with the
 ,secretary of ,state4  7c7 ,smithsonian
 ,institution  7#a7 ,in general         
,following the award of the gold medal  
under subsection 7a71 the gold medal    
shall be given to the ,national ,museum 
of ,american ,history of the            
,smithsonian ,institution1 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 ,institution should make   
the gold medal received under paragraph 
7#a7 available for loan1 as appropriate1
 so that the medal may be displayed     
elsewhere4  #e4 ,bronze duplicate medals
  7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may   
strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
the gold medal struck pursuant to       
section #d1 at a price sufficient to    
cover the cost thereof1 including labor1
 materials1 dies1 use of machinery1 and 
overhead expenses4  7b7 ,proceeds of    
sales ,the amounts received from the    
sale of duplicate medals under          
subsection 7a7 shall be deposited in the
 ,united ,states ,mint ,public          
,enterprise ,fund4  #f4 ,authority to   
use ,fund amounts ,there is authorized  
to be charged against the ,united       
,states ,mint ,public ,enterprise ,fund 
such amounts as may be necessary to pay 
for the costs of the medals struck under

 this ,act4  #g4 ,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  #h4 ,determination of
 budgetary effects ,the budgetary       
effects of this ,act1 for the purpose of
 complying with the ,statutory          
,pay-,as-,you-,go ,act of #bjaj1 shall  
be determined by reference to the latest
 statement titled ,budgetary ,effects of
 ,,paygo ,legislation for this ,act1    
submitted for printing in the           
,congressional ,record by the ,chairman 
of the ,house ,budget ,committee1       
provided that such statement has been   
submitted prior to the vote on passage4 
,passed the ,senate ,december #f1       
#bjbb4,secretary