Congress honors African American Civil War soldiers with gold medal
H.R. 1087 — United States Colored Troops Congressional Gold Medal Act · Filed by Eleanor Norton (D-DC) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 6, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill authorizes Congress to award a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal to African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, collectively recognizing their bravery and service. The medal will be designed and struck by the U.S. Mint, displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, and duplicate bronze versions may be sold to cover costs.
Why we flagged it
This is a straightforward Congressional Gold Medal bill honoring a specific historical group. It performs exactly one function: authorizing a medal to recognize African American service in the Civil War. The mechanism is transparent and the purpose is clearly stated.
What the text implies
- The bill's placement of the medal at the Smithsonian may increase public awareness of African American Civil War service, potentially shifting historical narratives in educational settings and museums.
- Authorization to sell duplicate bronze medals creates a revenue stream for the U.S. Mint, though the bill explicitly requires proceeds to offset costs rather than generate profit.
- The 'sense of Congress' language encouraging display at USCT-related locations is non-binding but signals congressional intent to promote broader public engagement with this history.
Who it affects
This is a commemorative measure that honors a historically marginalized group's contributions to the nation and preserves their memory for future generations. It carries no direct cost to citizens (the Mint's costs are covered by bronze medal sales) and serves a clear public interest in historical recognition and civic education.
Named in the bill
U.S. Mint, Smithsonian Institution, United States Colored Troops (USCT), Bureau of Colored Troops, African American Civil War Museum, Congress
Where it stands
6 cosponsors: 6 Democrats.
- Feb 6, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 6, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on House Administration and House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. Those filings disclosed $100,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Eleanor Norton, the sponsor, reported $12,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Affordable Housing Management Association (nahma) — $100,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jan 14, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 8, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jan 14, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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