Congress honors 1980 hockey team with gold medals, zero cost to taxpayers
H.R. 452 — Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act · Filed by Pete Stauber (R-MN) · 299 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 15, 2025 · Signed
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill authorizes the creation and award of 3 Congressional Gold Medals to honor the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, which defeated the Soviet Union in the famous "Miracle on Ice" game during the Cold War. One medal goes to each of three museums (Lake Placid Olympic Center, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Minnesota, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado), and the U.S. Mint is authorized to strike and sell duplicate bronze medals to cover production costs.
Why we flagged it
This is a straightforward Congressional Gold Medal bill honoring a historic sports achievement. It contains no regulatory changes, appropriations, or policy mechanisms—only authorization to strike medals and place them in public institutions.
What the text implies
- The bill authorizes the U.S. Mint to strike duplicate bronze medals for sale; revenue from these sales offsets all production costs, making this effectively cost-neutral to taxpayers.
- Placement of medals in three geographically dispersed public museums (New York, Minnesota, Colorado) ensures broad public access and research availability rather than concentration in a single location.
Who stands to gain
U.S. Mint (production and sales revenue)