Mel's artistry is profound. Every frame of The Passion could be hung in a museum as a piece of art. We are all of us immensely grateful for Mel's talent and that he choose this particular subject matter to make his mark. The Passion of the Christ is making enormous contributions to the betterment of our culture. SOme 80% of Americans will see The Passion. Spread the word. America backs Mel Gibson. Mel deserves the Congressional Medal. The effort involves the following:
House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Coinage,
Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Washington, DC.
The subcommittee meets to hear testimony on legislation authorizing the presentation of a specially struck congressional gold medal for Mel Gibson. This medal would be presented by the President on behalf of the Congress in recognition of Mel Gibson's efforts.
Pursuant to the rules of the subcommittee, no bill authorizing gold medals may be considered unless it is cosponsored by at least 218 Members, a majority of the House.
The cosponsorship requirement was instituted in 1980 to make certain that only events and individuals that have truly contributed to the history of this country will be considered for gold medals. The provision was intended to make certain that by requiring the support of a majority of the Members of the most democratic legislative body in the world, only the most important acts and individuals would be honored.
The text would read as follows: To award a special gold medal to Mel Gibson to be introduced and referred to the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.
A BILL
To award a special gold medal to Mel Gibson.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) the President is authorized to present, on behalf of the Congress, to Mel Gibson, a gold medal of appropriate design, in recognition of his efforts to address issues of importance to Americans.
(b) For the purposes of the presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall cause to be struck a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.
(c) Effective (date), there are authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $20,000 to carry out this section.
Sec 2. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury may cause duplicates in bronze of the medal provided for in the first section to be coined and sold 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.
(b) The appropriated used to carry out the first section shall be reimbursed out of the proceeds of such sales.
Sec. 3. The medals provided for in this Act are national medals for the purpose of section 5111 of title 31, United States Code.