H.R. 1277 — First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act

This section establishes the short title as the “First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act.”

This section states congressional findings regarding the recruitment, service, and legacy of the First Rhode Island Regiment during the Revolutionary War, including that nearly 200 men of African heritage and Indigenous descent were recruited between February 1778 and June 1778, that the regiment fought at the Battle of Rhode Island on August 28, 1778, and that the last Rhode Island soldiers were discharged on December 25, 1783.

This section authorizes the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a single Congressional Gold Medal to the First Rhode Island Regiment in recognition of its service during the Revolutionary War. It directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design and strike the medal with appropriate emblems, devices, and inscriptions, and provides that, after the award, the medal shall be given to the Rhode Island State Library for display and research access. It also states the sense of Congress that the Rhode Island State Library should make the medal available for display at other appropriate locations associated with the First Rhode Island Regiment.

This section authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates of the gold medal struck under section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the costs of production, including labor, materials, dies, machinery use, and overhead expenses.

This section establishes medals struck under this Act as national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code, and treats all such medals as numismatic items under 31 U.S.C. §§ 5134 and 5136. (Thus, the medals are subject to the statutory framework governing the production and sale of national medals and other numismatic items.)

This section authorizes the United States Mint to charge the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund for the costs of striking the medals authorized by this Act and requires that proceeds from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 be deposited into that fund. (Thus, the Mint may use existing fund balances to cover production costs, and sales revenue from duplicate bronze medals will replenish the fund.)