H.R. 1817 — Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Congressional Gold Medal Act

This section states congressional findings on the life and legacy of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, born January 24, 1874, in Puerto Rico, who collected over 10,000 items on Black history and the African diaspora—forming the basis of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, now holding more than 10 million items—and concludes that a Congressional Gold Medal is appropriate to honor his contributions.

This section authorizes the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal of appropriate design to Arturo Alfonso Schomburg in recognition of his pioneering work in collecting and preserving the history and culture of the African diaspora. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate are to present the medal, which the Secretary of the Treasury must strike with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions; following presentation, the medal is to be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture of the Smithsonian Institution for display and research, with a sense of Congress that it also be displayed at other Schomburg-associated locations and events.

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

This section designates medals struck pursuant to this Act as national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code (i.e., authorizing the U.S. Mint to produce them), and as numismatic items for purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code (i.e., permitting their design and sale by the Mint).

This section authorizes the use of amounts from the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund—used to finance the Mint's production and sale of coins and numismatic items—to pay the costs of striking medals under this Act. The section also requires deposit of proceeds from the sale of duplicate bronze medals, as authorized under section 4, into that fund.