[115th Congress Public Law 415]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 132 STAT. 5433]]

Public Law 115-415
115th Congress

                                 An Act


 
         To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Stephen Michael 
              Gleason. <<NOTE: Jan. 3, 2019 -  [S. 2652]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Stephen Michael 
Gleason Congressional Gold Medal Act. 31 USC 5111 note.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stephen Michael Gleason Congressional 
Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Stephen ``Steve'' Gleason was born March 19, 1977, in 
        Spokane, Washington to Mike and Gail Gleason.
            (2) Steve attended Gonzaga Preparatory School for high 
        school where he excelled as both a football and baseball player.
            (3) In 1995, Steve enrolled at Washington State University 
        where he was a 2-sport athlete for the baseball and football 
        teams and helped the Cougars football team advance to the 1997 
        Rose Bowl.
            (4) In 2000, Steve signed a professional football contract 
        with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League as 
        an undrafted free agent but later joined the New Orleans Saints 
        in November of that same season.
            (5) Steve would go on to play 7 more seasons as a member of 
        the New Orleans Saints.
            (6) Steve will always be remembered for his blocked punt on 
        September 25, 2006, against the Atlanta Falcons, the night the 
        Louisiana Superdome reopened for the first time after Hurricane 
        Katrina in a game the Saints would win 23 to 3.
            (7) In January, 2011 Steve was diagnosed with amyotrophic 
        lateral sclerosis or ALS, considered a terminal neuro-muscular 
        disease.
            (8) Following his diagnosis, Steve, with the loving support 
        of his wife, Michel, began a mission to show that patients can 
        not only live but thrive after a diagnosis of ALS and 
        established The Gleason Initiative Foundation also known simply 
        as ``Team Gleason''.
            (9) At the time of his diagnosis, however, Steve said there 
        will be ``No White Flags'', which has become the mantra of Team 
        Gleason.
            (10) The Gleason Initiative Foundation helps provide 
        individuals with neuromuscular diseases or injuries with leading 
        edge technology, equipment and services, raises global awareness 
        about ALS to find solutions and an end to the

[[Page 132 STAT. 5434]]

        disease, and has helped hundreds of people with ALS experience 
        life adventures they never thought possible after their 
        diagnosis.
            (11) Steve's story and mission have been told by the NFL 
        Network, ESPN, HBO, ABC, CBS, CNN, and many local media outlets, 
        as well as in a 2016 documentary titled ``Gleason'', which was 
        heralded at the Sundance Film Festival and premiered across the 
        country with Variety calling the production ``an emotional 
        powerhouse''. The documentary won several awards, including the 
        2016 Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for 
        Best Documentary.
            (12) Steve was named one of two Sports Illustrated's 
        Inspirations of the Year in 2014, has been a keynote speaker for 
        Microsoft and at two United Nations sponsored Social Innovation 
        Summits, and received the 2015 George S. Halas Courage Award, 
        given to a NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the 
        most adversity to succeed.
            (13) Steve helped advocate for the Steve Gleason Act of 2015 
        (Public Law 114-40; 129 Stat. 441), and the Steve Gleason 
        Enduring Voices Act of 2017, H.R. 2465, 115th Congress (2017), 
        which permanently ensures people living with diseases such ALS 
        have access to speech generating devices regardless of their 
        setting, whether at home or a healthcare institution.
            (14) In 2014, Steve and Team Gleason hosted a global summit 
        to bring together researchers, patients, caregivers, and all ALS 
        stakeholders to create a plan to ultimately end ALS. That summit 
        resulted in the single largest coordinated and collaborative ALS 
        research project in the world, Answer ALS, which brings together 
        nearly two dozen research institutions, 1,000 patients and 
        20,000,000,000,000 data points that are important to the project 
        and that will define the unknown pathways that will lead to 
        treatments or finally a cure.
            (15) In 2015, Steve and Microsoft worked together to create 
        a method for people who are completely paralyzed to navigate 
        their power wheelchairs with their eyes. Today, Steve, Microsoft 
        and all wheelchair manufacturers are working collaboratively to 
        make it widely available to all who need this technology. In 
        addition, Microsoft has also made eye tracking technology part 
        of all Windows 10 products across the globe.
            (16) In 2011, 10 months after his diagnosis, Steve and 
        Michel made their most significant accomplishment, becoming 
        parents to their son Rivers.
            (17) Steve and Michel Gleason continue to fight to find a 
        solution for ALS so they can share many years together and as 
        parents to Rivers.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--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 Stephen Michael Gleason.
    (b) Design and Striking.--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.

[[Page 132 STAT. 5435]]

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, 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 of the medals, 
including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead 
expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes 
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

    Approved January 3, 2019.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 2652:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018):
            June 14, considered and passed Senate.
            Dec. 20, considered and passed House.

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