[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7623 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7623

  To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Freedom House Ambulance 
  Service, in recognition of its dedicated service to the Pittsburgh 
community and contributions to the field of emergency medical services.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 20, 2026

 Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania (for herself, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mrs. 
   Dingell, Ms. Brown, Ms. Craig, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Dean of 
 Pennsylvania, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr. Frost, Mr. 
  Fitzpatrick, Ms. Goodlander, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. 
      Lynch, Ms. Norton, Mr. Pappas, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Thompson of 
Pennsylvania, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
 addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Freedom House Ambulance 
  Service, in recognition of its dedicated service to the Pittsburgh 
community and contributions to the field of emergency medical services.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom House Ambulance Service 
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Freedom House Ambulance Service was the first emergency 
        medical service in the United States to be staffed by 
        paramedics with medical training beyond basic first aid.
            (2) In the mid-1960s, before Freedom House was founded, 
        ambulance service in the United States was typically provided 
        by either the police or a local funeral home. These services 
        offered little more than transportation and people were dying 
        unnecessarily from treatable illnesses and injuries due to a 
        stark lack of pre-hospital care.
            (3) In 1965, Freedom House Enterprises was founded to 
        provide economic stimulation to the people of Pittsburgh, 
        specifically those in the predominantly Black Hill District, 
        where a majority of the residents fell well below the poverty 
        line. The goal of Freedom House Enterprises was to create job 
        training and employment opportunities for area residents and to 
        provide training and employment opportunities for those deemed 
        ``unemployable'' by the city welfare offices.
            (4) In 1965, Philip Hallen, President of the Maurice Falk 
        Medical Fund, a former ambulance driver, and Chairman of the 
        OEO Health Committee, envisioned a transformative model for 
        emergency medical care that combined social justice with 
        medical innovation. He collaborated with Morton Coleman from 
        the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Social Work, 
        James McCoy, President of Freedom House Enterprises, Inc., and 
        Dr. Peter Safar, known as the ``Father of CPR'', Medical 
        Director of Freedom House Ambulance, Professor and Chair of 
        Anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of 
        Medicine, to launch Freedom House Ambulance.
            (5) The formal training curriculum was developed by Dr. 
        Peter Safar and Gerald Esposito, integrating hospital 
        rotations, field training, and clinical instruction. Dr. Nancy 
        Caroline, who was later hired as medical director of Freedom 
        House Ambulance, led the development of the first national 
        paramedic textbook, Emergency Care in the Streets: A Manual for 
        Paramedics, and served as an advisor to President Gerald Ford 
        on emergency medical systems. Dr. Donald M. Benson was the 
        service's first medical advisor and played a key role in the 
        program's initial success.
            (6) Robert J. Zepfel served as the dedicated director of 
        Freedom House. Councilman Mitchell J. Brown, an original 
        Freedom House paramedic and former military medic, operations 
        director for Freedom House, hired and mentored future EMS 
        leaders, such as retired Assistant Chief John Moon, recognized 
        as the first non-physician to perform endotracheal intubation 
        in the field, who is a preeminent advocate for Freedom House 
        Ambulance and excellence in pre-hospital emergency care.
            (7) Addie Johnson and Pearl Porter were the first women to 
        complete training at Freedom House. Other known living members 
        include Darnela Wilson, George McCary III, Larry Underwood, 
        David Lindell, Bill Raynovich, William McDoodle, John Franklin, 
        and Ruth Johnson, who continue to serve as custodians of the 
        Freedom House legacy.
            (8) Despite its proven success, Freedom House Ambulance was 
        defunded in 1975 amid political opposition and racial tension. 
        Nonetheless, its training model, clinical data, and innovations 
        directly influenced the National Highway Traffic Safety 
        Administration's EMS standards and the national adoption of 
        advanced life-support ambulance systems.
            (9) Freedom House Ambulance operated from Presbyterian-
        University Hospital, now known as UPMC Presbyterian, serving 
        Pittsburgh's Hill District and neighboring communities with 
        professional, lifesaving pre-hospital care at a time when no 
        comparable system existed. Freedom House empowered its 
        trainees, many of whom were previously unemployed or 
        underemployed, with professional certification and dignity in 
        service, demonstrating that equitable access to education and 
        opportunity strengthens both individuals and communities.
            (10) Freedom House members consistently delivered superior 
        medical outcomes and established the model for the modern 
        paramedic system now recognized across the United States.
            (11) The Freedom House Ambulance Service remains a 
        cornerstone of American medical and civil rights history, 
        representing courage, excellence, and the enduring power of 
        community-driven innovation.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make 
appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the 
Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration 
of Freedom House Ambulance Service, in recognition of its dedicated 
service to the Pittsburgh community and contributions to the field of 
emergency medical services.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the presentation 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal 
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by 
the Secretary.
    (c) National Museum of African American History and Culture.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal 
        under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 
        National Museum of African American History and Culture of the 
        Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be available for 
        display as appropriate and made available for research.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the National Museum of African American History and Culture 
        should make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 
        available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 
        appropriate locations associated with the Freedom House 
        Ambulance Service.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the 
cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--The medal struck pursuant to this Act is a 
national medal for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such 
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck 
pursuant to this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--The amounts received from the sale of 
duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited 
into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
                                 <all>