text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Raoul Wallenberg Centennial 
  Celebration Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      The Congress finds as follows:
              (1) Raoul Wallenberg was born in Europe on August 4, 1912, 
          to Swedish Christian parents.
              (2) In 1935, he graduated from the University of Michigan 
          in Ann Arbor.
              (3) In a letter to his grandfather, Wallenberg wrote of his 
          time in America: ``I feel so at home in my little Ann Arbor 
          that I'm beginning to sink down roots here and have a hard time 
          imagining my leaving it . . . Every now and then I feel strange 
          when I think about how tiny my own country is and how large and 
          wonderful America is.''.
              (4) Raoul returned to Sweden, where he began a career as a 
          businessman, and afterwards, a Swedish diplomat.
              (5) In 1936, Raoul's grandfather arranged a position for 
          him at the Holland Bank in Haifa, Palestine. There, Raoul began 
          to meet young Jews who had already been forced to flee from 
          Nazi persecution in Germany. Their stories affected him deeply.
              (6) He was greatly troubled by the fate of Jews in Europe, 
          confiding to actress Viveca Lindfors the horrific plight of 
          Jews under Nazi Europe.
              (7) Under the direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 
          the War Refugee Board was established in January 1944, to aid 
          civilians who fell victim to the Nazi and Axis powers in 
          Europe.
              (8) One of War Refugee Board's top priorities was 
          protection of the 750,000 remaining Jews in Hungary.
              (9) It was decided that Raoul Wallenberg, aged 31 at the 
          time, would be most effective in protecting Jews and victims of 
          the Nazis in Hungary under the War Refugee Board. He was 
          recruited by Iver Olsen, an agent for the United States Office 
          of Strategic Services and sent to Budapest, Hungary, under his 
          official profession as a Swedish diplomat. He was instructed to 
          use passports and other creative means to save as many lives as 
          possible.
              (10) Wallenberg created a new Swedish passport, the 
          Schutzpass, which looked more imposing and official than the 
          actual Swedish passport. He reportedly put up huge placards of 
          it throughout Budapest to familiarize the Nazis with it. He 
          unilaterally announced that it granted the holder immunity from 
          the death camps. The Schutzpasses alone are credited with 
          saving 20,000 Jewish lives.
              (11) In one example of his heroism, Wallenberg was told of 
          a Nazi plot to round up several thousand Jewish women and acted 
          swiftly to save them. Former Wallenberg staffer, Agnes Adachi, 
          recalls the time, when she and her colleagues spent the whole 
          night making approximately 2,000 Schutzpasses before 6 a.m. 
          They were all completed and personally delivered to the women 
          in time to save their lives.
              (12) Using the money the United States deposited with the 
          War Refugee Board, Wallenberg was able to purchase 
          approximately 30 buildings, which he used as hospitals, 
          schools, soup kitchens, and safe houses for over 8,000 children 
          whose parents had already been deported or killed.
              (13) Tommy Lapid, a young boy who was staying with his 
          mother in a Swedish safe house (his father was already dead), 
          gave an eyewitness account of how his family was helped by 
          Wallenberg and the War Refugee Board: ``One morning, a group of 
          Hungarian Fascists came into the house and said that all the 
          able-bodied women must go with them. We knew what this meant. 
          My mother kissed me and I cried and she cried. We knew we were 
          parting forever and she left me there, an orphan to all intents 
          and purposes. Then two or three hours later, to my amazement, 
          my mother returned with the other women. It seemed like a 
          mirage, a miracle. My mother was there--she was alive and she 
          was hugging me and kissing me, and she said one word: 
          Wallenberg.''.
              (14) Even as the war was coming to a close, Wallenberg 
          remained vigilant and attentive to the people under his care. 
          Adolf Eichmann, the SS colonel charged with the extermination 
          of Jews in Eastern Europe, was determined to exterminate the 
          70,000 Jews kept as prisoners in a guarded ghetto in Budapest. 
          As soon as Wallenberg heard of the plot, he sent Pal Szalay, an 
          Arrow-Crossman senior official, who defected and turned to 
          Wallenberg. Szalay was sent to speak to General Schmidthuber, 
          who was ordered to spearhead the ghetto extermination in 
          Budapest. Szalay informed Schmidthuber that, seeing as the war 
          was coming to an end, if the planned massacre took place, 
          Wallenberg would see to it personally that Schmidthuber would 
          be prosecuted as a war criminal and hanged. The plans were 
          ultimately abandoned and considered Wallenberg's last big 
          victory.
              (15) Of the 120,000 Jews in Hungary that survived, Raoul 
          Wallenberg, acting under the War Refugee Board, is credited 
          with saving an estimated 100,000 of them in a 6-month period.
              (16) These findings show that Raoul Wallenberg showed 
          exceptional heroism and bravery with his actions during the 
          Holocaust. Working with the War Refugee Board, a United States 
          agency, he was able to save approximately 100,000 Jews in 
          Hungary, many of whom were later able to immigrate to the 
          United States.
              (17) Indeed, many American Jews can directly or indirectly 
          attribute their own lives to Raoul Wallenberg's actions during 
          World War II. Many of the people Wallenberg saved have been 
          influential citizens contributing to American institutions and 
          culture, including Congressman Tom Lantos (February 1, 1928-
          February 11, 2008) and the Liska Rebbe, Rabbi Yoizef (Joseph) 
          Friedlander, who carried forth the Liska Hassidic dynasty from 
          Hungary to the United States after being saved by Raoul 
          Wallenberg.
              (18) His actions and character make him an excellent 
          contender for a Congressional Gold Medal in time for the 
          centennial of his birth, to celebrate his achievements and 
          humanitarian accomplishments.
  
  SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
  
      (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
  Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make 
  appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the 
  Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to the next of kin or 
  personal representative of Raoul Wallenberg, in recognition of his 
  achievements and heroic actions during the Holocaust.
      (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the presentation 
  referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this 
  Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with 
  suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 
  Secretary.
  
  SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
  
      Under such regulations as the Secretary (in this Act referred to as 
  the ``Secretary'') may prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicate 
  medals in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 and 
  sell such duplicate medals at a price sufficient to cover the costs of 
  the duplicate medals (including labor, materials, dies, use of 
  machinery, overhead expenses) and the cost of the gold medal.
  
  SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
  
      (a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this Act are 
  national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
  Code.
      (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, 
  United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
  considered to be numismatic items.
  
  SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
  
      (a) Authorization of Charges.--There is authorized to be charged 
  against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, such amounts as 
  may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant to 
  this Act.
      (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
  bronze medals under section 4 shall be deposited in the United States 
  Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
target: Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Act - Directs The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation on behalf of the Congress of a gold medal of appropriate design to the next of kin or personal representative of Raoul Wallenberg in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions during the Holocaust.
feat_title: A bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Raoul Wallenberg, in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions during the Holocaust.