The Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2020 only awaits President Trump’s signature as the measure cleared the U.S. Senate March 2.
Already given final approval by the House of Representatives, the bill (HR 5671) calls for the creation of a gold medal to honor World War II merchant mariners. The medal would be displayed in the American Merchant Marine Museum at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York. Duplicates then would be struck and made available to the public.
The legislation’s sponsor, U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA), noted the bill passed with strong bipartisan support: “Thank you to Senator [Lisa] Murkowski (R-AK) for championing this legislation in the Senate and for her partnership.”
The original measure cleared the House and Senate late last year, but amendments by each body kept it in Congress. Those changes were adopted and the final legislative action was approved.