Congress honors Korean American WWII hero and immigrant advocate
H.R. 819 — Colonel Young Oak Kim Congressional Gold Medal Act · Filed by Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 28, 2025 · Referred to committee
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 Congress to award a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal to Colonel Young Oak Kim, a Korean American military officer and humanitarian who served with distinction in World War II and the Korean War, then founded multiple community organizations serving Asian American and immigrant populations in Los Angeles. The medal will be struck by the Treasury Department, presented by the Speaker and Senate President pro tempore, and housed at the Smithsonian Institution.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is authorization of a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal—a ceremonial honor with no regulatory, fiscal, or policy substance. It is a standard commemorative instrument naming a deceased public figure.
Who it affects
Congressional Gold Medals are ceremonial honors with minimal fiscal cost (the medal itself and administrative overhead). The bill commemorates a deceased individual whose life exemplified public service, military heroism, and community leadership—creating a public record of recognition for contributions to civil society. No restrictions on citizens' rights or protections are imposed.
Named in the bill
Colonel Young Oak Kim, 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Secretary of the Treasury, Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery, Koreatown Youth and Community Center, Center for the Pacific Asian Family, Korean Health, Education, Information and Research Center, Japanese American National Museum, Go for Broke National Education Center
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 5 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
- Jan 28, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 28, 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.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (7,935 characters) on Jun 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; 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.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress honors Korean American WWII hero and immigrant advocate” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr819 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.