Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill awards three Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, commonly known as the Miracle on Ice team. The medals recognize the team's extraordinary achievement in defeating the dominant Soviet hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, an event that revitalized American morale during the Cold War and transformed ice hockey in the United States. The three medals will be displayed at the Lake Placid Olympic Center, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth, Minnesota, and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Who Benefits and How
The 20 members of the 1980 Olympic hockey team receive the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow. Three museums designated as medal recipients benefit from enhanced prestige and potential visitor interest. The U.S. Mint can sell bronze duplicate medals to collectors, generating revenue that flows back to the Mint Public Enterprise Fund. Museum visitors, students, families, and sports historians benefit from permanent public displays of the medals at the named institutions.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund covers the costs of striking the gold and bronze medals. There is no significant taxpayer burden since bronze duplicate sales are designed to be self-sustaining at cost-recovery prices. The Secretary of the Treasury, United States Mint, and federal taxpayers bear design and production administration responsibilities, with bronze medal purchasers covering duplicate-medal costs.
Key Provisions
- Awards three Congressional Gold Medals honoring the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's ice hockey team.
- Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design and strike the medals with appropriate emblems and inscriptions.
- Requires display of the medals at the Lake Placid Olympic Center, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum.
- Authorizes bronze duplicate medal sales to the public at prices that recover production costs.
- Provides that the medals are national medals under chapter 51 of title 31.
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
To award three Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team in recognition of their extraordinary achievement at the 1980 Winter Olympics, known as the 'Miracle on Ice', and to provide for their display.
Key Policy Areas
Commemorative Awards, Sports, Federal Finance, Numismatics, History
Primary Purpose
To award three Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team in recognition of their extraordinary achievement at the 1980 Winter Olympics, known as the 'Miracle on Ice', and to provide for their display.
Policy Domains
main
Identified Gains
- 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team
- Lake Placid Olympic Center
- U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
- U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum
- museum visitors
- students
- families
- sports historians
Identified Costs
- Secretary of the Treasury
- United States Mint
- Bronze medal purchasers
- Federal taxpayers
- bronze medal purchasers
Awarding Congressional Gold Medals for the 'Miracle on Ice'
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team
- Lake Placid Olympic Center
- United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum
- United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum
- The American public
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- United States Mint
- Department of the Treasury
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Signed into LawBecame Public Law No: 119-53.
Signed by President.
Presented to President.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
On motion that the House suspend the rules and agree …
Resolving differences -- House actions: On motion that the House …
DEBATE - The House proceeded with 40 minutes of debate …
Mr. Williams (TX) moved that the House suspend the rules …
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team members, 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team members (named roster), 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team
U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund, US Mint, United States Mint
United States Mint faces effects in multiple directions
Positive-direction: US Mint
Negative-direction: U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund
Lake Placid Olympic Center, United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum, United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_speaker"
- → Speaker of the House of Representatives
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
- "the_president_pro_tempore"
- → President pro tempore of the Senate
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Secretary of the Treasury.
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