PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 6, 2025
United States Colored Troops Congressional Gold Medal Act
This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to the African Americans who served with Union forces in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during the Civil War.
People & committees
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] · D–DC
Legislative record
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Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E104-105)
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-06 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed United States Colored Troops Congressional Gold Medal Act would honor African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War with one collective, posthumous Congressional Gold Medal. The Smithsonian would receive the medal for display and research. The Treasury Secretary could also make and sell bronze copies at a price covering their costs.
This Act may be cited as the United States Colored Troops Congressional Gold Medal Act.
the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to the African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, collectively
the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where the medal shall be available for display as appropriate and available for research.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof
The bill's findings explain the proposed honor by describing African-American soldiers' and sailors' service amid discrimination and danger. They also recognize women who served in support and intelligence roles despite being barred from formally enlisting.
Congress finds the following:
African-American soldiers and sailors served with distinction, honor, and bravery amid racial discrimination and adverse circumstances, including the risk of enslavement and torture if captured.
During the Civil War, African-American women were not allowed to formally enlist as soldiers or sailors, though they served as nurses, cooks, spies, and scouts for the Union Army and the Union Navy.
The bill would require the House Speaker and the Senate's president pro tempore to arrange the collective, posthumous presentation on Congress's behalf, recognizing the recipients' bravery and outstanding Civil War service.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to the African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, collectively, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during the Civil War.
The Treasury Secretary would have to produce the gold medal and choose its emblems, designs, and inscriptions.
the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the Secretary) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
After the award, the medal would go to the Smithsonian and be available for research and appropriate display. The bill also expresses Congress's nonbinding view that the Smithsonian should make it available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with the United States Colored Troops.
Following the award of the gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where the medal shall be available for display as appropriate and available for research.
It is the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, particularly at appropriate locations associated with the United States Colored Troops.
The Treasury Secretary could, but would not have to, produce and sell bronze copies. Their price would have to cover costs, including labor, materials, production dies, machinery use, and overhead.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
The bill would classify the medals as national medals under the cited federal coinage law and as numismatic items—items associated with coin and medal collecting—for the cited Mint fund provision. The referenced statutory rules are not reproduced in the bundle.
The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
The bill would authorize charging the medals' necessary costs to the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, without specifying a dollar amount. Revenue from bronze-copy sales would have to be deposited in that fund.
There is authorized to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the cost of the medals struck under this Act.
Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 4 shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated December 5, 2025, records introduction in the House on February 6, 2025, and referral that day to the Financial Services and House Administration committees for consideration of provisions within their respective jurisdictions.
Source snapshot updated 2025-12-05T21:21:17Z.
2025-02-06: Introduced in House
2025-02-06: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-06. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No earmark was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. The medal-production funding authorization does not by itself establish an earmark. This conclusion is limited to this version and does not resolve formal status in accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No separate narrow exemption or preferential treatment warranting a finding was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. The commemorative recipients and medal custody arrangements implement the bill's main purpose. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Dec 5, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI