HR 2916 IH

107th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2916

To authorize the President to award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to the passengers and crew of United Airlines flight 93 in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 20, 2001

Mr. STEARNS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

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A BILL

To authorize the President to award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to the passengers and crew of United Airlines flight 93 in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Honoring the Passengers and Crew of United Flight 93 Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that--

(1) on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked 4 separate airliners with the intention of using the planes as weapons to kill innocent Americans and destroy American landmarks and institutions;

(2) at 8:44 am, United Airlines Flight 93 took off from Newark, New Jersey, destined for San Francisco, California, and was hijacked by 4 terrorists shortly after take off;

(3) it is widely presumed that the terrorists who took control of United Airlines Flight 93 intended to use the aircraft as a weapon and crash it into the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.;

(4) in cellular phone conversations with their loved ones, several passengers learned that 3 hijacked aircraft were used as weapons against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon;

(5) the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 recognized the potential danger and indicated their intent to take heroic and noble action to ensure that the aircraft they were aboard could not be used as a weapon;

(6) it is believed that in an act of selfless courage and supreme sacrifice, the crew and passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 fought to recapture the aircraft from the terrorists; and

(7) United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a sparsely populated area near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:10 a.m., September 11, 2001, undoubtedly saving countless lives in the Nation's Capital.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED-

(1) IN GENERAL- The President is authorized, on behalf of the Congress, to award posthumously a gold medal of appropriate design to each of--

(A) the United Airlines Flight 93 crew members--

(i) Lorraine G. Bay;

(ii) Sandra W. Bradshaw;

(iii) Jason Dahl;

(iv) Wanda A. Green;

(v) LeRoy Homer;

(vi) CeeCee Lyles; and

(vii) Deborah A. Welsh; and

(B) the United Airlines Flight 93 passengers--

(i) Christian Adams;

(ii) Todd Beamer;

(iii) Alan Beaven;

(iv) Mark Bingham;

(v) Deora Bodley;

(vi) Marion Britton;

(vii) Thomas E. Burnett, Jr.;

(viii) William Cashman;

(ix) Georgine Rose Corrigan;

(x) Joseph Deluca;

(xi) Patrick Driscoll;

(xii) Edward Felt;

(xiii) Colleen Fraser;

(xiv) Andrew Garcia;

(xv) Jeremy Glick;

(xvi) Kristin Gould;

(xvii) Lauren Grandcolas;

(xviii) Donald F. Greene;

(xix) Linda Gronlund;

(xx) Richard Guadagno;

(xxi) Toshiya Kuge;

(xxii) Hilda Marcin;

(xxiii) Waleska Martinez;

(xxiv) Nicole Miller;

(xxv) Louis J. Nacke;

(xxvi) Donald Peterson;

(xxvii) Mark Rothenberg;

(xxviii) Christine Snyder;

(xxix) John Talignani;

(xxx) Honor Elizabeth Wainio; and

(xxxi) 3 additional heroes whose families have requested that their names be withheld.

(2) MODALITIES- The modalities of presentation of the medals struck under this Act shall be determined by the President, after consultation with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING- For purposes of the presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall strike gold medals with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

The medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.