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Billno should always have and extension i.e. h1.ih

To award a congressional gold medal to the family of the late Raul Julia. (Introduced in House)

HR 2818 IH

108th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2818

To award a congressional gold medal to the family of the late Raul Julia.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 22, 2003

Mr. GUTIERREZ (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. REYES, Ms. VELAZQUEZ, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA, Mr. FROST, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. WATERS, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. PASTOR, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. LEE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. BACA, Mr. MEEKS of New York, and Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

A BILL

To award a congressional gold medal to the family of the late Raul Julia.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds as follows:

(1) Raul Julia made his Broadway debut just a few weeks after arriving in New York City in 1964 in Calderon's `Life is a Dream'.

(2) Raul Julia, after only 3 years of living in New York City, was instrumental in opening doors for nontraditional parts for Hispanic actors by taking the role of Demetrius in Shakespeare's `Titus Andronicus' at the New York Shakespeare Festival and Cradeau in Sartre's `No Exit'.

(3) Raul Julia was the busiest Hispanic Shakespearean actor in New York and the first to establish a decades-long association with Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival.

(4) Raul Julia began an impressive and productive 28-year association with Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival as Macduff in the Festival's Mobile Unit, Spanish language production of MacBeth.

(5) Raul Julia became the first Puerto Rican actor to conquer Broadway stages by having his work be nominated for 4 different Tony Awards in 10 years: `Two Gentlemen of Verona', `Where's Charley?', `Threepenny Opera', and `Nine'.

(6) Raul Julia provided a role model for millions of children in his role as `Rafael, the Fix-It Man' in Sesame Street.

(7) Raul Julia was a dedicated leader in the fight against the rising rates of teen violence and cosponsored scriptwriting competitions for high school students as a way to encourage teenagers to express their emotions through art rather than through violence.

(8) Raul Julia's dedication to help Hispanic-American film and television writers develop their work led him to co-found the Latino Playwrights Reading Workshops.

(9) Raul Julia was instrumental in the formation of the now legendary Puerto Rico Traveling Theater, an off-Broadway nonprofit Puerto Rican theater that to this day continues to promote and showcase bilingual plays, new Hispanic playwrights and Spanish-speaking actors while bringing theater to those who cannot ordinarily afford it.

(10) Raul Julia was a leader in the entertainment industry, particularly as a tireless mentor and role model to emerging Latino actors.

(11) Raul Julia was a dedicated activist and humanitarian who in his lifetime became a major supporter and spokesperson for the Hunger Project, a nonprofit organization committed to the eradication of world hunger.

(12) Raul Julia was tireless in his commitment to the Puerto Rican film industry and to the making of Spanish language films and continued to participate in small, independent, Spanish-language films even after having become a Hollywood star.

(13) Raul Julia was an extremely successful stage, film and television actor who never abandoned his Puerto Rican heritage, never changed his name and never gave up his accent, thereby becoming an enduring role model for hundreds of Latino actors.

(14) Raul Julia received the Hispanic Heritage Award recognizing his many career achievements for the Latino community, including his involvement in `La Familia', a New York City outreach program for Latino families in need, the Puerto Rican traveling theater, the Museo del Barrio, and the New York Shakespeare Festival.

(15) Raul Julia received the National Board of Review Best Actor prize for his interpretation of the political prisoner Valentin in the award-winning landmark film `The Kiss of the Spider Woman', an award he shared with his co-star William Hurt.

(16) Raul Julia posthumously received the prestigious Emmy Award, Cable Ace Award, Golden Globe Award, and the SAG Award, given by his fellow actors for his most famous roles including Chico Mendes in `The Burning Season'.

(17) Raul Julia was proud of his Puerto Rican heritage and his life and work reflected his strong commitment to his culture and the people of Puerto Rico.

(18) Raul Julia was given a state funeral in Puerto Rico and since that time there have been many awards and honors created in his name: a scholarship at Julliard, a scholarship given to a promising young actor for the purpose of studying and performing Shakespeare at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, the Raul Julia Award for Excellence given annually by the National Endowment for the Hispanic Arts in Washington, DC, El Teatro Raul Julia in San Juan Puerto Rico, and the Raul Julia Global Citizen Award, an annual award being given this year for the first time by the Puerto Rican Family Institute based in New York City.

(19) Raul Julia was recognized by the office of the Mayor of the city of New York with the creation of Raul Julia Day which was celebrated and commemorated in conjunction with Puerto Rican Heritage and Culture Month on November 21, 1994.

SEC. 2. 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 family of the late Raul Julia, in recognition of his dedication to ending world hunger and his great contributions to the Latino community and to the performing arts.

(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING- For purposes of the presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the `Secretary') shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.

(c) GIFTS AND DONATIONS- The Secretary may accept, use, and disburse gifts or donations of property or money to carry out this section.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.

SEC. 4. 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. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS- 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 authorized under section 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF ANY NET INCOME TO THE NEW YORK PUBLIC THEATER AND THE NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL.

If the sum of any gifts and donations received by the Secretary under section 2(c) and any proceeds from the sale of duplicate medals pursuant to section 3 exceeds the total amount of the costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall transfer, from the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an amount equal to--

(1) 1/2 of such excess amount to the New York Public Theater; and

(2) 1/2 of such excess amount to the New York Shakespeare Festival.

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