,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dhhe  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,august #e1 #bjbe,mr4
 ,green of ,texas introduced the        
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 
and in addition to the ,committees on   
,house ,administration1 and the ,budget1
 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 historic           
,congressional ,gold ,medal1            
collectively1 to ,africans and their    
descendants enslaved within our country 
from ,august #bj1 #afai1 to ,december   
#f1 #ahfe4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,the original       
legislation awarding a historic         
,congressional ,gold ,medal1            
collectively1 to ,africans and their    
descendants enslaved within our country 
from ,august #bj1 #afai1 to ,december   

#f1 #ahfe4  #b4 ,findings ,congress     
finds the following3  7#a7 ,human beings
 were systematically abducted from the  
continent of ,africa and placed against 
their will onto ships that would cross  
the ,atlantic ,ocean4  7#b7 ,these      
persons were chained within the holds of
 ships in horrendous conditions for the 
duration of the transatlantic journey1  
which lasted up to six months4  7#c7    
,upon arrival in ,north ,america1 they  
were forced into labor among the        
,english and ,european colonies that    
would later become the ,united ,states4 
7#d7 ,their enslavement was concentrated
 on farms and plantations that produced 
crops such as cotton1 tobacco1 and sugar
 cane4  7#e7 ,the practice of slavery   
continued up to and past the eventual   
,american ,revolution against ,england  
and the founding of the ,united ,states 
of ,america4  7#f7 ,in the ensuing      
decades1 slavery persisted primarily in 
,states where the economy was based     
significantly on farming4  7#g7 ,the    

treatment of enslaved people continued  
to be horrendous in nature1 including   
exploitation1 family separation1 rape1  
torture1 and degradation1 among other   
cruelties4  7#h7 ,slave labor was       
essential to the functioning of many    
farms and plantations and therefore was 
essential to the growth of the ,united  
,states economy as a whole4  7#i7 ,slave
 labor was used to build notable        
buildings and monuments in the ,united  
,states1 including the ,united ,states  
,capitol ,building1 the ,white ,house1  
the ,washington ,monument1 ,mount       
,vernon1 which was the home of ,george  
,washington1 and ,monticello1 which was 
the home of ,thomas ,jefferson4  7#aj7  
,the profits from and involvement of    
slave labor were also essential to the  
construction of the ,smithsonian        
,institution1 ,wall ,street1 ,harvard   
,university1 ,georgetown ,university1   
and ,fort ,sumter4  7#aa7 ,it has been  
estimated that the total economic value 
of slave labor is between #e4i trillion 

and #ad4b trillion in #bjji dollars4    
7#ab7 ,the ,united ,states became       
increasingly divided between            
slaveholding and non-slaveholding       
,states and territories1 including as to
 whether slavery should be expanded to  
new ,states and territories or abolished
 altogether4  7#ac7 ,the secession of   
,states from the ,united ,states began  
on ,december #bj1 #ahfj1 and led to the 
formation of the ,confederate ,states of
 ,america on ,february #d1 #ahfa4  7#ad7
 ,the ,american ,civil ,war began on    
,april #ab1 #ahfa1 with the attack on   
,fort ,sumter by ,confederate forces4   
7#ae7 ,on ,january #a1 #ahfc1 ,president
 ,abraham ,lincoln issued the           
,emancipation ,proclamation declaring   
that all persons held as slaves in      
,confederate ,states henceforward shall 
be free4  7#af7 ,after four years of    
grueling battle and conflict1 the ,civil
 ,war concluded with the surrender of   
the commander of the ,confederate forces
 on ,april #i1 #ahfe1 although fighting 

continued until ,november #f1 #ahfe1 and
 the ,civil ,war was proclaimed to be   
over by ,president ,andrew ,johnson on  
,august #bj1 #ahff4  7#ag7 ,the #acth   
,amendment to the ,united ,states       
,constitution abolishing slavery passed 
the ,congress on ,january #ca1 #ahfe1   
and was ratified by the required number 
of ,states on ,december #f1 #ahfe4      
7#ah7 ,the text of the #acth ,amendment 
states that1 ,neither slavery nor       
involuntary servitude1 except as a      
punishment for crime whereof the party  
shall have been duly convicted1 shall   
exist within the ,united ,states1 or any
 place subject to their jurisdiction44  
7#ai7 ,the use of slave labor over      
hundreds of years resulted in immense   
suffering and deprivation among the     
people who fell victim to these         
abhorrent practices4  7#bj7 ,at the same
 time1 the extensive1 long-term use of  
unpaid labor advantaged the ,united     
,states economy immeasurably4  #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 gold   
medal of appropriate design dedicated to
 the enslaved persons collectively in   
recognition of their service as the     
greatest contributors to the foundation 
of ,america's economic greatness4  7b7  
,design and striking ,for the purposes  
of the award referred to in subsection  
7a71 the ,secretary of the ,treasury    
shall strike the gold medal with        
suitable emblems1 devices1 and          
inscriptions1 to be determined by the   
,secretary4  7c7  ,smithsonian          
institution  ,following the award of the
 gold medal described in subsection 7a71
 the gold medal shall be given to the   
,smithsonian ,institution1 where it will
 be displayed at the ,national ,museum  
of ,african-,american ,history  ,culture
 and made available for research4  #d4  
,duplicate medals  7a7 ,in general ,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    
bronze medals1 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  7c7 ,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  #e4 ,status of medals ,the  
gold medal struck pursuant to this ,act 
is a national medal for purposes of     
chapter #ea of title #ca1 ,united       
,states ,code4  #f4 ,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