,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dfhj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #aa 7legislative day1 ,july #aj71 #bjbd,mrs4 ,shaheen 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 ,mr4 ,mc,connell1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,padilla1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,ms4 ,smith1 ,mr4 ,king1 ,ms4 ,sinema1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,ms4 ,murkowski1 ,mr4 ,rounds1 ,mr4 ,thune1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,mr4 ,manchin1 ,ms4 ,ernst1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1 ,mr4 ,graham1 ,mr4 ,fetterman1 ,mrs4 ,fischer1 ,mr4 ,mullin1 ,mr4 ,ricketts1 ,mrs4 ,capito1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,hickenlooper1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,crapo1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,mr4 ,grassley1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,mr4 ,lujn1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,sullivan1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 ,ms4 ,rosen1 ,mr4 ,tester1 ,mr4 ,warner1 ,mr4 ,warnock1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 and ,mrs4 ,gillibrand7 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 ,jens ,stoltenberg1 in recognition of his contributions to the security1 unity1 and defense of the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,secretary ,general ,jens ,stoltenberg ,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,jens ,stoltenberg served as the ,prime ,minister of ,norway from #bjjj to #bjja and #bjje to #bjac4 7#b7 ,norway was a founding member of the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization 7referred to in this ,act as ,,nato7 on ,april #d1 #aidi4 7#c7 ,as ,prime ,minister of ,norway1 ,jens ,stoltenberg oversaw ,norway's increased defense spending levels and the modernization of the ,norwegian ,armed ,forces4 7#d7 ,a primary objective of ,,nato is to provide security and support to member nations and promote democratic values to ensure stability and peace4 7#e7 ,jens ,stoltenberg assumed the position of ,secretary ,general of ,,nato in ,october #bjad4 7#f7 ,the ,united ,states was the first ,,nato member to support ,jens ,stoltenberg's appointment as ,secretary ,general4 7#g7 ,jens ,stoltenberg has led ,,nato through significant new investments1 reinforced its capabilities and enhanced the collective defense of the ,alliance4 7#h7 ,jens ,stoltenberg has advocated for greater burden sharing among members of the ,,nato ,alliance1 and under his leadership the ,alliance will see #bc member countries reach or exceed the #b percent defense spending commitment by #bjbd1 compared to #d member countries in #bjad4 7#i7 ,jens ,stoltenberg's commitment to better burden sharing has resulted in a stronger and more sustainable ,alliance than at any other time in ,,nato history4 7#aj7 ,under ,jens ,stoltenberg's leadership1 ,,nato has successfully undergone multiple enlargement periods and has extended membership to ,finland1 ,montenegro1 ,north ,macedonia and ,sweden4 7#aa7 ,in addition to bolstering the collective security of the ,alliance1 ,,nato enlargement indicates that an increasing number of countries are meeting key benchmarks on the military1 political and legal requirements needed for ,,nato accession1 enhancing interoperability1 defense expenditure and intelligence sharing among member countries4 7#ab7 ,jens ,stoltenberg has increased ,,nato's partnerships with ,indo-,pacific countries to cooperate more closely to address our shared global challenges including cyber defense1 emergency technologies1 and the multitude of challenges posed by the ,people's ,republic of ,china4 7#ac7 ,jens ,stoltenberg included ,indo-,pacific leaders at ,,nato summits and traveled to the region which further cemented these important partnerships4 7#ad7 ,following ,russia's full-scale invasion of ,ukraine in ,february #bjbb1 ,jens ,stoltenberg has led the ,alliance in maintaining unprecedented unity against ,putin's unprovoked1 illegal actions4 7#ae7 ,since ,february #bjbb1 ,,nato members have supplied ,ukraine with the equipment and resources it needs to defend its democracy and its sovereignty4 7#af7 ,jens ,stoltenberg successfully marshaled political and financial support from ,indo-,pacific partners to support ,ukraine1 including contributions of munitions and military equipment and sizeable financial contributions to ,,nato's ,comprehensive ,assistance ,plan ,action ,trust ,fund for ,ukraine4 7#ag7 ,jens ,stoltenberg's mandate was extended a total of #d times with unanimous support by ,,nato allies1 with #b extensions agreed to following ,russia's unprovoked invasion of ,ukraine4 7#ah7 ,jens ,stoltenberg is the second longest-serving ,secretary ,general1 serving over #i years in this position4 7#ai7 ,jens ,stoltenberg has re-committed that the ,,nato ,alliance will stand together against any threat posed to a ,,nato member1 ensuring continued peace and stability within ,,nato territory and around the world4 #c4 ,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 the ,congress1 of a single gold medal of appropriate design to ,jens ,stoltenberg1 in recognition of his contributions to the security1 unity1 and defense of the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization4 7b7 ,design and striking ,for 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 ,secretary4 ,the design shall bear an inscription of the name of ,jens ,stoltenberg4 #d4 ,duplicate medals ,the ,secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under section #c1 at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals1 including labor1 materials1 dies1 use of machinery1 and overhead expenses4 #e4 ,status of medals 7a7 ,national medals ,medals struck under 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 sales ,amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section #d shall be deposited into the ,united ,states ,mint ,public ,enterprise ,fund4