United States HR 1968: Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act

Bill Text

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116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1968
To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Shirley Chisholm.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 28, 2019
Mr. JEFFRIES (for himself, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. WATERS, Ms. CLARKE of New
York, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BISHOP
of Georgia, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. BROWN of Mary-
land, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CARSON of
Indiana, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. CLARK of
Massachusetts, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COX of Cali-
fornia, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Ms. DEAN, Mr.
DELGADO, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ESPAILLAT,
Ms. FUDGE, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of Puerto Rico, Mr. GREEN of
Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms.
HILL of California, Ms. NORTON, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma,
Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. JOHNSON of
Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KING of New York, Mrs. LAW-
RENCE, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. LEE of Ne-
vada, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs.
CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of
New York, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr.
MORELLE, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. OCASIO-COR-
TEZ, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. PRESSLEY, Miss RICE of New
York, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. ROSE of New York, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SAN
NICOLAS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. DAVID SCOTT
of Georgia, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. STANTON, Mr.
SUOZZI, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis-
sissippi, Mr. TONKO, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. VEASEY,
Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr.
ZELDIN, Mr. CLEAVER, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. SPEIER, Mrs.
NAPOLITANO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. GABBARD, Ms. WASSERMAN
SCHULTZ, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania,
Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. MENG, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Ms.
KUSTER of New Hampshire, and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in
addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
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•HR 1968 IH
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned
A BILL
To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to
Shirley Chisholm.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shirley Chisholm Con-4
gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
The Congress finds as follows: 7
(1) In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first 8
African-American woman elected to Congress where 9
she served until 1982. 10
(2) Shirley Chisholm inspired and led the 11
march of political achievement by African-Americans 12
and women in the three decades since she ran for 13
the Presidency of the United States. 14
(3) Her election to Congress and her candidacy 15
for the Presidency raised the profile and aspirations 16
of all African-Americans and women in the field of 17
politics. 18
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(4) Shirley Chisholm was recognized for her ac-1
tivism, independence, and groundbreaking achieve-2
ments in politics during and after the civil rights 3
era. 4
(5) Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn, 5
New York, on November 30, 1924, attended Brook-6
lyn College, and earned a Master’s degree from Co-7
lumbia University. 8
(6) Shirley Chisholm worked in education and 9
social services before being elected to the New York 10
State Assembly in 1964. 11
(7) Shirley Chisholm established the Unity 12
Democratic Club in 1960, which played a significant 13
role in rallying Black and Hispanic voters in New 14
York City. 15
(8) In 1969, Shirley Chisholm began her service 16
in the 91st Congress, representing Brooklyn’s 12th 17
Congressional District in the United States House of 18
Representatives. 19
(9) During her service in the House of Rep-20
resentatives, Shirley Chisholm promoted the employ-21
ment of women in Congress and was vocal in her 22
support of civil rights, women’s rights, and the poor, 23
while fervently opposing the Vietnam War. 24
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(10) In 1972, Shirley Chisholm was the first 1
African-American to seek the nomination of a major 2
party for President of the United States. 3
(11) Shirley Chisholm was a co-founder of the 4
National Organization for Women. 5
(12) An historic fig