H.R. 1699 and H.R. 2575 Wednesday, June 27, 1990 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND COINAGE, The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:40 a.m. in room 2128, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Richard H. Lehman [chairman of the subcommittee] presiding. Present: Chairman Lehman, Representatives Pelosi, Hiler, Ridge, Dreier and Saxton. Chairman LEHMAN. The subcommittee will come to order. Mr. Hiler should be here momentarily. I am going to go ahead and begin with his consent. Today the House Banking Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Coinage meets to hear testimony on two bills: H.R. 1699, a bill "To award congressional gold medals to Frank Capra, James Stewart, and Fred Zinnemann"; and H.R. 2575, a bill "To establish a congressional commemorative medal for members of the Armed Forces who were present during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.' Under the guidelines of the subcommittee, only gold and national medal bills that have more than 218 cosponsors can be considered. This cosponsorship requirement was imposed to assure that only those individuals whose deeds have embellished or contributed to our country are honored with this special award. In the over 200 year history of our country, only 103 pieces of legislation authorizing gold and national medals have been enacted. Congressional Gold Medals and national medals are indeed truly special awards. The first Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to George Washington to express the thanks of the Congress, in their own name and in the name of the thirteen united colonies, for wise and spirited conduct in the siege and acquisition of Boston. The purpose of the Congressional Gold Medal has changed throughout our history from one of being an honor of military heroism to one that recognizes the diverse contributions of our modern heroes. Today we have before us two bills, one to honor three individuals who have contributed much to our modern cultural heritage through their movies, Mr. Frank Capra, Mr. Jimmy Stewart and Mr. Fred Zinnemann; and another bill to honor those who were present during the attack on Pearl Harbor, the event that brought our country into World War II. (1) I want to welcome here this morning the Honorable Robert J. Mrazek of New York to testify on behalf of H.R. 1699 and the Honorable Frank J. Guarini of New Jersey to testify on behalf of H.R. 2575. I would also like to welcome Mr. Gene Essner, the Deputy Director of the United States Mint, whose assistance to the subcommittee has always been very helpful. Also here testifying before us today is Mr. Lee Goldfarb, who was aboard the U.S.S. Oglala when Pearl Harbor was attacked. I thank all of you for being here today. I recognize Mr. Hiler for his opening statement. Mr. HILER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. As these bills have received the required number of cosponsors to receive consideration by the subcommittee, I want to thank the Chairman for convening these hearings today and I look forward to the testimony. I have some questions on specifically the Pearl Harbor medal, which I talked to the author about. I think we will get some of these answered today. I look forward to the remainder of the hearing. I yield back. Chairman LEHMAN. Certainly. Why don't we start with you, Mr. Mrazek. STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT J. MRAZEK, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK Mr. MRAZEK. I want to thank both you and the Ranking Member of this subcommittee, Mr. Hiler, for agreeing to hold hearings on H.R. 1699. I have a statement for the record that I would like to submit that I know you will want to take home with you and curl up with this evening after today's working session. Chairman LEHMAN. Without objection, that will also be printed in the record. Mr. MRAZEK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman LEHMAN. Other people may do the same, who are not here. Mr. MRAZEK. I am proud to say 222 of our colleagues have cosponsored this legislation which would provide one of our highest civilian honors to three men who have contributed a great deal to our national cultural heritage. There is a great deal I could say about each of these three individuals. Mr. Fred Zinnemann, who has won four different Academy Awards for films that highlight questions about conscience and character, those like "High Noon", "From Here to Eternity", and "A Man for All Seasons", for which he won Academy Awards for best director, films that reflect enduring American values, the principle of individualism, and have served as an inspiration to millions of Americans. His contribution will unquestionably be an enduring part of our national cultural heritage, and this medal would be a fitting tribute and expression of gratitude for his life's work. The second individual who would be honored under this legislation is Mr. Frank Capra, director, of Italian ancestry, who in addition to making extraordinary motion pictures like "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "It's a Wonderful Life", which many people view to be a very ringing endorsement of some of our most fundamental American values of family, Mr. Capra has an additional distinction in that at the beginning of World War II, he produced a series of documentary films that Winston Churchill described as the most striking and important expression of what we were fighting for and against that he had ever encountered. It was called the "Why We Fight" series. You may recall, Mr. Chairman, that at the beginning of World War II, in an era when communications were not as sophisticated as they are today, there were a great many Americans who were not quite sure what Adolf Hitler represented and what the Empire of Japan was attempting to do in enslaving a good portion of the world. The "Why We Fight" series was about as sophisticated and effective a way of communicating to millions of Americans, particularly young Americans, about to go into combat, and helped to generate a great deal of motivation and involvement in the cause in which they were fighting for. The third gentleman who would receive this award is someone who represents, I think, for many Americans, all that is true and good in our country. That is Mr. James Stewart, the film actor. Jimmy Stewart, of course, made a number of wonderful films-I think he deserves a medal for his civilian endeavors irrespective of other pursuits that he took in his life, but at the age of 34, after Pearl Harbor, Jimmy Stewart, already a motion picture star of some magnitude, enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was trained as a pilot of B-24 Liberators, flew dozens of missions over Germany in World War II as the pilot of a B-24 Liberator, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He devoted a good portion of the rest of his life so far to the Air Force and the Air Force Reserve, eventually becoming a Brigadier General in the Air Force Reserve and contributing countless hours of volunteer work on behalf of the Air Force. His whole life, I think, is summed up in commitment and service to this Nation and its highest ideals. I am very proud to have been able to sponsor this legislation which would award civilian medals to each of these three gentlemen from the United States Congress. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [The prepared statement of Mr. Mrazek can be found in the appendix.] Chairman LEHMAN. Thank you very much. STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK J. GUARINI, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY Mr. GUARINI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you, Mr. Hiler, and Mr. Ridge, for permitting me to have an opportunity to testify before you today to consider my bill to establish a Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal. December 7, 1991 will mark the 50th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in our Nation's history, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack swept us into World War II, and elevated the United States as a world protector of freedom and affected generations of Americans who believed, and continue to believe, that we as a nation, as a people, must pursue the fight for freedom on every inch of the globe. Last June on behalf of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, which number 11,000 in our Nation throughout the 50 States, I introduced H.R. 2575, the Commemorative Bill, along with Senator Heinz in the Senate. This had swept through the Senate without any negative vote, and it was a bill to pay final tribute to the 2,400 men and women who died at Pearl Harbor within a few moments on December 7, as well as to recognize the 11,000 living men and women that were at Pearl Harbor at that time and any survivors that may have passed away since then. Many people were disabled and injured. Many people were killed. The men who made it through Pearl Harbor to a man and woman had fought through the entirety of World War II, from the first-very first moment, the very first day, throughout to the end. I think that something should be given in recognition of the great service and heroic service these people had given to our country and at the same time, you know, recognize that Pearl Harbor was something very special in our history. I want to recognize the fact that there are many people here who are survivors of Pearl Harbor from different parts of the United States who have taken a deep personal interest in seeing this Commemorative bill does, in fact, become a law, and I-particularly, you will hear from Lee Goldfarb, Director of the Seven District, which is in the Northwestern Pearl Harbor Association. With him is Gerry Glabitz, National Vice President of this 11,000 member veterans group. They are joined with many people that you see here that are wearing the Pearl Harbor white hats and the veterans who really we are so terribly proud of for what they have given of their lives to our country. I think that the least that our country can do is to commemorate that event as a very unique and special event in our history. In regard to the concerns that there are, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association feels that no more than 20,000 will actually receive the award. Through their own organization, every one of the 11,000 would want to receive the award and the medal, and there are 2,400 where the heirs of the survivors would perhaps be very anxious to be recognized and receive the medal. Of the remaining 70-some-odd thousand, many of them, of course, who have died, the heirs may or may not apply for the medal and what would perhaps happen is that the eligibility would be determined of those particular people by the Secretary of Defense. I might say that the Secretary of the Treasury would have a hand in this as to the cost and the size of the medal and the type of medal that would be awarded. It would probably be a bronze medal. I should imagine it would be about a 3.5 inch medal. That determination of cost and size would be left to the Secretary of Defense. I have about 230 cosponsors of this bill. There are sponsors that are coming in every day. The medal could be paid from the sales and duplicative coins that would be earned as a result of members of the public that would wish to purchase them. That could allay considerably the expense that would be involved. I have two amendments that I wanted to also ask you to consider. That is one which-it doesn't have to be a miniature medal. That could be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, and instead of having the 6 months to perform, that they be given 12 months to have these medals ready. We do want to have them ready for the 50th anniversary which would be December 7, 1991. So I want to thank you for your consideration of the bill and any questions that you may ask, I would be very happy to answer. There will be people here that can testify to further support this particular piece of legislation that may have even more information than I have that could satisfy this committee. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here. [The prepared statement of Mr. Guarini can be found in the appendix.] Chairman LEHMAN. Thank you very much. I do want to extend a welcome to everyone here associated with the Pearl Harbor legislation. Frank, you estimate 20,000 people would be eligible to receive the medal? Mr. GUARINI. The Association feels that 20,000 people will actively apply for or seek the award. Now, it could be more. They assume that every one of the 11,000 spread throughout the 50 States will want the medal, and they will apply for the medal. They assume that the ones that are-the heirs to those that were killed at Pearl Harbor itself, the 2,400, will by and large seek the medal. Now, of the balance of the 90,000 which should be about 75,000 roughly, it would be by application and eligibility to be determined by the Secretary of Defense. Many of those may not have any personal interest because they are the sons or grandchildren that would have the right to apply and they may not show as great an interest as the people who are active in the Association today. So there could be 30,000. There could be 40,000. But I do think that we could start with 20,000. If there has to be an overrun, that that could be determined by the Secretary of Defense and Treasury, and the overrun could take place next year or the year later. It doesn't have to be all at one time. Chairman LEHMAN. Who is responsible for developing the application? Mr. GUARINI. That would be the Secretary of Defense. He would pass on the eligibility of the applicants. Chairman LEHMAN. The Secretary of Defense would determine eligibility from Defense Department records? Mr. GUARINI. Of whatever prescription they feel are necessary to establish the eligibility. That is left for the rules to be promulgated by the Secretary. Chairman LEHMAN. How about the next of kin? Who will determine which next of kin would get the medal? Mr. GUARINI. That would be by the Secretary of Defense. He can make it as restrictive or as liberal as he feels. I feel the best is to |