HR1087-119

Introduced

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service.

119th Congress Introduced Feb 6, 2025

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill posthumously awards a Congressional Gold Medal to honor African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War. The medal recognizes approximately 200,000 soldiers in the Union Army and 19,000 sailors in the Union Navy who served during the conflict.

Who Benefits and How

The Smithsonian Institution receives the gold medal for permanent display and research access. Medal collectors and the general public can purchase duplicate bronze medals from the U.S. Mint. The African American community and descendants of Civil War veterans receive official national recognition of their ancestors service and sacrifice.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The U.S. Mint bears the production costs, funded through the Mint Public Enterprise Fund. However, costs are offset by sales of duplicate bronze medals, making this largely cost-neutral to taxpayers.

Key Provisions

  • Congressional Gold Medal awarded collectively to African Americans who served in Union forces during the Civil War
  • Gold medal given to Smithsonian Institution for display, with encouragement to display at locations associated with United States Colored Troops
  • Secretary of the Treasury authorized to produce and sell duplicate bronze medals
  • Medal costs funded through U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund, with sales proceeds returning to that fund

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Awards a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service.

Key Policy Areas

Commemorative, Federal Government Operations

Primary Purpose

Awards a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service.

Policy Domains

Commemorative Federal Government Operations

United States Colored Troops Congressional Gold Medal Act

Identified Gains
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • Medal collectors
  • African American community
  • Descendants of Civil War veterans
Model: N/A | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Smithsonian Institution:
African American community:
Descendants of Civil War veterans:
Identified Costs
  • U.S. Mint
Model: N/A | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
U.S. Mint:

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Feb 6, 2025

Ms. Norton (for herself, Mr. Amo, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Carter …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

General Public
2 mentions across 2 clauses
+2 positive

African American Civil War veterans and descendants, African American community and descendants of Civil War veterans

Government
2 mentions across 2 clauses
+1 positive ?1 uncertain

U.S. Mint, U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund

Museums And Historical Sites
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Smithsonian Institution

Retail
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Medal collectors

3/6
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Commemorative Federal Government Operations
Actor Mappings
"the_secretary"
→ Secretary of the Treasury

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

1 term
"The Secretary" §3

The Secretary of the Treasury (as defined in Section 3 of this Act)

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology