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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 13, 2025
First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act
This bill provides for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the First Rhode Island Regiment, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service during the Revolutionary War.
People & committees
Rep. Amo, Gabe [D-RI-1] · D–RI
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
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: Sep 19, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-13 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.
This bill proposes awarding one Congressional Gold Medal to the First Rhode Island Regiment as a group for its Revolutionary War service. The Rhode Island State Library would receive the medal for display and research. The Treasury Secretary could also produce and sell bronze copies at prices that cover their costs.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the First Rhode Island Regiment, collectively in recognition of their dedicated service during the Revolutionary War.
Following the award of the gold medal in honor of the First Rhode Island Regiment of the Revolutionary War under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the Rhode Island State Library, where it will be displayed as appropriate and made available for research.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
The bill’s findings describe almost 200 men of African heritage and Indigenous descent as the regiment’s original core and describe its recruitment across races and ethnicities. They also state that some veterans later resisted re-enslavement and sought back wages. These are historical statements presented by the bill as reasons for recognition.
(6) As a result, between February 1778 and June 1778, Colonel Christopher Greene, Lt. Colonel Jeremiah Olney and Major Samuel Ward recruited almost 200 men of African heritage and Indigenous descent who formed the core of the First Rhode Island Regiment. (7) The First Rhode Island Regiment became among the first units in American History in which men of every race and ethnicity were recruited to serve.
(13) Afterwards, some veterans of the First Rhode Island Regiment had to consistently resist efforts at re-enslavement and fought for back wages from the Rhode Island General Assembly.
The House Speaker and the Senate’s president pro tempore would be required to arrange the collective award. The Treasury Secretary would be required to produce the gold medal and choose its emblems, designs, and inscriptions.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the First Rhode Island Regiment, collectively in recognition of their dedicated service during the Revolutionary War.
For the purposes of the award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the Secretary) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
After the award, the medal would have to go to the Rhode Island State Library for appropriate display and research access. The bill also expresses Congress’s preference, rather than a requirement, that the library make it available for display elsewhere, particularly at suitable places associated with the regiment.
Following the award of the gold medal in honor of the First Rhode Island Regiment of the Revolutionary War under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the Rhode Island State Library, where it will be displayed as appropriate and made available for research.
It is the sense of Congress that the Rhode Island State Library should make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the First Rhode Island Regiment of the Revolutionary War.
Producing and selling bronze copies would be optional for the Treasury Secretary. If sold, 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 under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
All medals produced under the bill would be classified as national medals under chapter 51 of title 31 of the United States Code. They would also be treated as “numismatic items”—items associated with coin and medal collecting—for purposes of sections 5134 and 5136.
(a) National medals 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 sections 5134 and 5136 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’ production costs to the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund in whatever amounts are necessary. This is permission to use the fund, without a specified dollar amount.
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 under this Act.
Money received from selling bronze copies would have to be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
The supplied action snapshot, updated September 19, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Financial Services on February 13, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-19T23:38:55Z. 2025-02-13: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. 2025-02-13: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-13. 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 provision unrelated to the medal proposal was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish attachment history or the contents of other versions.
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 under the stated spending definition. This conclusion is limited to that version; it does not establish formal earmark status in accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No separate narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential exception was identified beyond the proposed honor’s intended recipients and administration. This conclusion is limited to the complete supplied introduced text.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 19, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI