CAP Congressional Gold Medal

Status update as of February 17, 2012

Another Senator – Only 17 to Go!

On February 16 Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, cosponsored S 418, the CAP Congressional Gold Medal bill. With her co-sponsorship we are at 75 percent of our goal (in the Senate) and the California Wing now has both of its Senators as cosponsors. Great job, California!

We now have some momentum going into Legislative Day—please keep up your efforts, particularly in the Senate! States with opportunities to gain both Senators include Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia. We need these wings to step up to challenge! Nine other states also have an opportunity to gain one more Senator as a cosponsor.  See the chart below for a breakout of cosponsors in the Senate.

There will be a special legislative briefing the night before Legislative Day, Wednesday February 29. The Congressional Gold Medal and other CAP legislative efforts will be discussed. It is mandatory for all wings to be represented and the Wing Commander and Government Relations Advisor must be present. All others are welcome! If you have questions or need any help please contact John Swain – dcoffice.cap@verizon.net, Colonel Joe King – jking@cap.gov or Lt Colonel Jack Faas – jfaas@aol.com.

New Cosponsors for January 2012 and February 2012

New Representatives:

Rep Baldwin, Tammy (D-WI-2) - 1/31/2012
Rep Duffy, Sean P. (R-WI-7) - 1/31/2012
Rep Ribble, Reid J. (R-WI-8) - 1/31/2012
Rep Huizenga, Bill (R-MI-2) - 1/31/2012
Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. (R-MI-11) - 1/31/2012
Rep Cohen, Steve (D-TN-9) - 1/31/2012
Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. (D-CT-3) - 1/31/2012
Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. (R-NC-3) - 1/31/2012
Rep Hurt, Robert (R- VA-5) - 2/2/2012  

New Senators:

Sen Mikulski, Barbara (D-MD) – 1-23-2012
Sen Boozman, John (R-AR) - 2/7/2012
Sen Inhofe, James M. (R-OK) - 2/13/2012
Sen Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA) - 2/16/2012
 

 Bill Status

Cosponsors Details

Note1: Wings/states highlighted in red have their entire congressional delegation as cosponsors.

Note2: Nevada had a Senator resign who was replaced by a Representative both were cosponsors so there are still two Members of Congress in the state who have not become cosponsors. The 100 percent is slightly misleading but technically correct.

Background
Two bills were introduced in the 112th Congress (in both the House and Senate) to award Civil Air Patrol the CGM in recognition of its World War II members and the service they provided for the nation. CAP’s wartime operations were highly unusual in that they involved civilian volunteers using their own aircraft and money to fly combat, humanitarian and other critical homeland security missions during a critical time of need for the nation.
 
The two bills would award a single gold medal to the CAP.  Donations will pay l for replica medals that will be presented to surviving veterans and families of those who have already passed on.

The effort to obtain cosponsors is critical to the success of these two bills.  Before they will be considered in their respective committees the bills must have 290 House cosponsors and 67 Senate cosponsors.

Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Why is this important now?
Answer: Time is running out for our World War II veterans and their service was highly unusual—volunteer civilians flying combat and humanitarian missions at a time of great need for the nation. They never received the recognition they deserved for the unusual and dangerous missions they performed. Nor did they receive wartime benefits despite being on active duty with the CAP. It is estimated that about 1,500 WWII veterans die every day and we only know of a few surviving CAP veterans. Also, this gives present-day CAP volunteers and missions some much needed visibility within the Executive and Legislative branches of government as well as the public at a time when CAP’s homeland security role is increasing and budgets are becoming very tight.

Question: What is the best way to contact my Member of Congress?
Answer: You can call or visit their Washington and state offices or send an email or letter. It is probably best to make personal contact (call or visit) and to obtain a name and telephone number so that you can follow up on your request. Contact can be made by anyone who is a constituent including CAP members, CAP WWII veterans and anyone else interested (friends, family, community business owners, etc.) in supporting this effort. It is vital that you follow up on your request.

Question: What if I don’t know of any CAP WWII members in the state?
Answer: All of the 48 contiguous states had volunteer citizens in the Civil Air Patrol. They served in their home state and other states. There is a link on this page that lists those CAP WWII veterans (and their current addresses) that we know about. Many of CAP’s WWII records were destroyed in a fire at a military records center in the 1970s. We are now trying to locate surviving WWII members and/or their families to compile a data base. That most current list is on this webpage as a link. Members of Congress should also consider cosponsoring this legislation as a way to should support to their state CAP wings and members.

Question: Some are concerned about the price of the CGM—how much does this cost the government?
Answer: Both bills authorize the government to spend up to $30,000 to strike and design a single gold medal. A Congressional Research Service report (Congressional Gold Medals, 1776-2009 by Stephen W. Stathis, November 16, 2009) notes that the cost of issuing a Congressional Gold Medal is actually charged against the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund. Congress established this revolving fund to be available to the Secretary of the Treasury for numismatic operations and programs of the United States Mint without fiscal year limitations. Monies received from the sales of the bronze duplicates are used to support the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund. While the $30,000 cost might seem high to a few legislators it is truly little to be able to honor thousands of civilian volunteers who flew combat and humanitarian missions at a time of great need for our nation. It should also be noted that CAP members on active duty during the war did not receive any benefits after the war despite the great sacrifices they made.

Question: Is it good enough if a Member of Congress or their staff tell me he/she will vote for the bill once it gets to the floor or comes out of a committee?
Answer: This is not overly helpful because each bill requires 2/3 of the members of the House or Senate to sign on to be cosponsors before it will be considered in the relevant committee. While this is a high bar and gaining those many cosponsors is very difficult this is where CAP needs the most help. Without gaining the necessary cosponsors these bills are dead in the water.

Question: Is it enough just to call once?
Answer: Only if the Member of Congress agrees to cosponsor and then actually does cosponsor. It is important to keep calling until he/she agrees and you know that it has happened. You should check the cosponsor list on this website frequently to see if that Member of Congress has actually signed on.

Question: How do Members of Congress cosponsor these bills?
Answer: Members of Congress who want to cosponsor this legislation in the House (HR 719) should contact Todd Ethington (202-225-8045) in Congressman Filner’s office and, in the Senate (S 418), Tom Buttry (202-224-9604) in Senator Harkin’s office.

Question: If I need more information who should I contact?
Answer:  If you have any questions or concerns contact John Swain, CAP's Washington representative, at dcoffice. dcoffice.cap@verizon.net.