H.R. 1377 — Sarah Keys Evans Congressional Gold Medal Act

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Sarah Keys Evans Congressional Gold Medal Act.”

This section sets forth congressional findings on Sarah Keys Evans, including that she was born on April 18, 1929, in Washington, North Carolina; that on August 1, 1952, she was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on an interstate bus in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina; that she was jailed overnight and fined $25; and that her case, Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, led the Interstate Commerce Commission on November 25, 1955, to rule that segregation of Black passengers on interstate buses was unlawful under section 216(d) of the Interstate Commerce Act.

This section authorizes the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Mrs. Sarah Keys Evans in recognition of her achievements, and directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike a gold medal of appropriate design with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.

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

This section provides that medals struck under the Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code, and that, for purposes of 31 U.S.C. § 5134, all such medals are numismatic items. (Thus, the medals are treated as part of the United States Mint’s numismatic operations and programs and their receipts may be deposited in the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.)