Miracle on Ice Gold Medals

Summary#

This law awards three Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team in recognition of their win over the Soviet team at the 1980 Winter Olympics. The Secretary of the Treasury will approve the medals' design and strike them. After the award, one gold medal will go to the Lake Placid Olympic Center, one to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth, Minnesota, and one to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to be displayed and made available for research. The Secretary may also strike duplicate medals in bronze and sell them at a price sufficient to cover their costs. The law says medals struck under it are national medals and numismatic items.

What it means for you#

  • The law recognizes the 1980 team and places three gold medals in public museum collections named in the text, where people can view them or use them for research "as appropriate."
  • The Treasury (through the Secretary) will decide the medals' design and may produce and sell bronze duplicates to cover costs.
  • The law does not change benefits, create new programs, or list direct effects on individuals beyond the medal awards and museum displays.

Expenses#

  • The law authorizes charging the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund for costs to strike the medals.
  • Sales of duplicate bronze medals are to be at a price sufficient to cover their costs, and proceeds must be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
  • No publicly available information on total cost estimates or fiscal impact is provided in the text.

Proponents' View#

Congress's findings in the law state that the 1980 team's victory was an "extraordinary achievement" that revitalized American morale during the Cold War, inspired generations, and transformed hockey in the United States. The findings note the team's roster by name, the 4-3 win over the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, the later gold-medal win over Finland, large television viewership, and increases in youth hockey participation and U.S. players in the National Hockey League since 1980.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.