Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Mercury 13 Congressional Gold Medal Act”.
Mercury 13 Congressional Gold Medal Act
A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Mercury 13, in recognition of their historic accomplishments and their work for gender equity, and in recognition of their important example of women in STEM fields.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
The Mercury 13 was a group of women who participated in the First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs) Program, a privately funded project testing women pilots for astronaut fitness in the 1960s.
These women underwent the same psychological and physical testing that Dr. William Randolph Lovelace was simultaneously putting male pilots through to determine their candidacy for space travel as part of the NASA Mercury Project.
Members of the Mercury 13, though their training was not part of the NASA program, outperformed the Mercury 7 astronauts chosen for space travel in certain tests, and these women paved the way for other women in space.
None of the members of the Mercury 13 were ever able to go to space due to gender barriers, but they opened the door for female pilots and astronauts down the line.
Two of the women, Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb and Jane “Janey” Briggs Hart, spoke at a Congressional Hearing before the Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics to advocate for the continuation of their program, which led to an investigation into discrimination on the basis of sex two years before the Civil Rights Act was passed.
A motion to honor these women was included in the Congressional Record in 2007 during the 110th Congress. The resolution, H. Res. 421, honored the trailblazing accomplishments of the Mercury 13 and encouraged young women to follow in their footsteps and pursue careers in aviation, astronautics, engineering, and science.
The Mercury 13 are:
Myrtle “K” Cagle.
Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb.
Jan Dietrich.
Marion Dietrich.
Mary Wallace “Wally” Funk.
Jane “Janey” Briggs Hart.
Jean Hixson.
Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen.
Irene Leverton.
Sarah Lee Gorelick Ratley.
Bernice Trimble Steadman.
Geraldine “Jerri” Sloan Truhill.
Rhea Hurrle Allison Woltman.
Sec. 3 Congressional Gold Medal
Presentation authorized— The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of the Mercury 13, in recognition of their historic accomplishments and their work for gender equity, and in recognition of their important example of women in STEM fields.
Design and striking— For the purposes of the presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the “Secretary”) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
National Air and Space Museum—
In general— Following the award of the gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be available for display as appropriate and made available for research.
Sense of congress— It is the sense of Congress that the National Air and Space Museum should make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the Mercury 13, and that preference should be given to locations affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.
Sec. 4 Duplicate medals
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
Sec. 5 Status of medals
National medals— The medal struck pursuant to this Act is a national medal for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
Numismatic items— For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
Sec. 6 Authority to use fund amounts; proceeds of sale
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 pursuant to this Act.
Proceeds of sale— The amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.