To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the brave women who served in World War II as members of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and U.S. Navy Nurse Corps.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Daines, and Mr. Luján) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill awards a Congressional Gold Medal — the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow — to the women who served as nurses in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War II. The medal honors their bravery, dedication, and critical contributions to military medical care during the war.
Who Benefits and How
WWII Army and Navy Nurses (and their legacy): The surviving nurses and the memory of those who have passed receive formal Congressional recognition for their wartime service. These women served under extraordinary hardship — in field hospitals near front lines, on hospital ships, and as flight nurses retrieving wounded soldiers from combat zones. Many faced enemy fire, some were captured as prisoners of war by Japan, and several were killed in action. Despite these sacrifices, they originally received only 50% of men's pay and no military benefits or training before deployment.
The Smithsonian Institution: Receives the gold medal for display and research, with the expectation of sharing it with relevant museums including the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, and the National World War II Museum.
Who Bears the Burden and How
U.S. Treasury (minimal cost): The costs of striking the medals are charged to the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund. Bronze duplicate medals will be sold to the public at prices covering production costs, making this largely cost-neutral to taxpayers.
Key Provisions
- Congressional Gold Medal Award: Authorizes a single gold medal to be awarded collectively to all WWII Army and Navy Nurse Corps members
- Historical Recognition: The findings section documents the nurses' contributions, including that over 73,000 women served, many under fire in combat zones across 6 continents
- Addresses Historical Inequity: Acknowledges that these nurses initially received unequal pay, no military benefits, and faced racial discrimination (particularly African-American nurses who were quota-limited until 1944)
- Display Requirements: The medal goes to the Smithsonian with encouragement to display it at military medical and women's service memorials
- Bronze Duplicates: Allows the Secretary of the Treasury to produce and sell bronze replicas to cover costs
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to award a Congressional Gold Medal collectively to the women who served as nurses in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War II, recognizing their bravery and dedication.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Medals struck under this bill are considered national medals and numismatic items, subject to specific regulations outlined in Title 31 of the U.S. Code.
A prestigious award bestowed by Congress to honor individuals or groups for their outstanding contributions and achievements.
Permits charging necessary costs for producing the medals against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
Bronze replicas of the gold medal, sold to cover the costs associated with producing and distributing the medals.
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