,i #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #igc ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #i1 #bjbc,ms4 ,williams of ,georgia 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,mrs4 ,mc,bath1 ,mr4 ,david ,scott of ,georgia1 and ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services ,a ,,bill ,to award a ,congressional ,gold ,medal to ,thomas ,w4 ,dortch1 ,jr41 in recognition of his unique and substantial contributions across ,america in lifting marginalized people1 communities1 and institutions that continue to struggle for economic mobility1 access to greater opportunities1 equity1 and equality for all people4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as ,thomas ,w4 ,dortch1 ,jr4 ,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,thomas ,w4 ,dortch1 ,jr41 was born ,april #ab1 #aiej1 in ,toccoa1 ,georgia1 to ,lizzie ,dortch and ,thomas ,w4 ,dortch1 ,sr41 and went on to become an influential leader and mentor as well as a successful businessperson and crusader for equal justice4 7#b7 ,after graduating from ,whitman ,street ,high ,school in #aifh1 ,dortch attended ,fort ,valley ,state ,university in ,fort ,valley1 ,georgia1 and graduated with a bachelor of arts in sociology in #aigb4 ,that year1 he began his formal career by seeking to aid disenfranchised people through proposing projects for the ,state of ,georgia4 ,in #aigd1 he became the associate director of the ,georgia ,democratic ,party4 ,in #aigh1 ,dortch began working as an administrative aide for ,senator ,sam ,nunn of ,georgia and eventually became ,state ,director1 the first ,african ,american to serve in this position4 ,dortch worked tirelessly to represent the interests of small businesses1 minorities1 and other marginalized individuals and institutions4 7#c7 ,in #aihf1 ,dortch joined the #ajj ,black ,men of ,america1 an international mentoring program intended to improve the quality of life and opportunities for education and employment for ,african ,americans4 ,he served as chairman of #ajj ,black ,men of ,atlanta and became the chairman of #ajj ,black ,men of ,america's national board of directors4 ,that same year1 he earned his master of arts in criminal justice administration from ,clark ,atlanta ,university and married ,carole ,dortch4 7#d7 ,in #aiid1 after more than #af years of government service1 ,dortch left his position to pursue his own business interests4 ,he became ,,ceo of the consulting firm ,,twd1 ,inc41 and ,atlanta ,transportation ,systems1 ,inc41 a ,fulton ,county paratransit company4 ,he still holds both positions4 7#e7 ,dortch has won numerous awards highlighting his achievements1 including a ,presidential ,citation for volunteerism from ,president ,barack ,obama1 the ,martin ,luther ,king1 ,jr41 ,distinguished ,service ,award1 and the ,concerned ,black ,clergy's ,salute to ,black ,fathers ,leadership ,award4 ,dortch has four children4 ,his unique and substantial contributions across ,america in lifting marginalized people1 communities1 and institutions that continue to struggle for economic mobility1 access to greater opportunities1 equity1 and equality for all people4 7#f7 ,dortch is an institution builder that included founding the ,national ,black ,college ,alumni ,hall of ,fame ,foundation1 ,inc41 cofounding the ,georgia ,association of ,minority ,entrepreneurs 7,,game7 to fill a void as an advocacy organization for minority business development1 and cofounding the ,greater ,atlanta ,economic ,alliance as a capacity building and business development organization for the construction and transportation industries4 7#g7 ,dortch is the recipient of numerous awards and honors that celebrate his efforts1 a partial list includes3 listed in the #bjja1 #bjjb1 #bjjc1 and #bjjd ,may editions of ,ebony magazine as one of the #ajj ,most ,influential ,african ,americans2 listed in ,spring #bjja through #bjad ,publications of ,atlanta ,business ,chronicle as one of the #ajj ,most ,influential ,atlantans2 #bjjh ,community ,service ,professional of the ,year ,award2 #bjjh ,fraser,net ,community ,service ,award2 and #bjjh ,global ,leadership ,empowerment ,award4 7#h7 ,dortch's volunteer board service includes serving on the ,board of ,trustees of ,leadership ,atlanta1 ,vice ,chairman of the ,board1 ,grady ,memorial ,hospital ,corporation1 ,chairman of the ,board1 ,friendship ,force ,international1 ,chairman of the ,board1 ,fulton_/,de,kalb ,county ,hospital ,authority2 #bjaj was inducted into ,atlanta ,convention and ,visitors ,bureau's ,atlanta ,hospitality ,hall of ,fame2 three-term ,chairman of the ,board1 ,the ,atlanta ,business ,league3 ,chair1 ,fort ,valley ,state ,university ,foundation ,board1 ,member of ,operation ,hope ,board of ,trustees1 ,florida ,agricultural and ,mechanical ,university ,board of ,trustees1 ,talladega ,college ,board of ,trustees1 ,clark ,atlanta ,university ,board of ,trustees1 and ,chairman of the ,board1 ,national ,coalition on ,black ,civic ,participation4 7#i7 ,in #bjai1 ,dortch was inducted into the ,international ,civil ,rights ,walk of ,fame4 ,the ,civil ,rights ,walk of ,fame was created to recognize the courageous soldiers of justice who sacrificed and struggled to make equality a reality for all4 ,dortch's footstep impression joined those of civil and human rights icons1 such as ,rosa ,parks1 ,archbishop ,emeritus ,desmond ,tutu1 ,ambassador ,andrew ,young1 ,congressman ,john ,lewis1 and others4 7#aj7 ,dortch's philanthropic and investment advice and counsel1 particularly to corporate ,america1 have benefitted countless minority organizations1 institutions1 and communities across ,america to realize and grow their programming and impact4 7#aa7 ,dortch received honorary doctors degrees from ,fayetteville ,state ,university1 ,jarvis ,christian ,college1 ,fort ,valley ,state ,university1 ,university of ,maryland ,eastern ,shore1 and ,livingstone ,college4 7#ab7 ,dortch was recently honored by ,clark ,atlanta ,university and the ,national ,coalition on ,black ,civic ,participation in #bjba with the creation of the ,,ncbcp ,thomas ,w4 ,dortch1 ,jr41 ,institute for ,leadership1 ,civic ,engagement1 ,economic ,empowerment1 and ,social ,justice4 #c4 ,congressional gold medal 7a7 ,presentation authorization ,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 ,thomas ,w4 ,dortch1 ,jr41 in recognition of his unique and substantial contributions across ,america in lifting marginalized people1 communities1 and institutions that continue to struggle for economic mobility1 access to greater opportunities1 equity1 and equality for all people4 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 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 #c1 at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof1 including labor1 materials1 dies1 use of machinery1 and overhead expenses4 #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 sections #eacd and #eacf 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 ,fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 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