This bill authorizes Congress to award three Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team in recognition of their historic victory over the Soviet Union, known as the "Miracle on Ice." The team, comprised of amateur collegiate players, defeated the heavily favored defending Olympic champions 4-3 on February 22, 1980, during the Cold War, which inspired Americans and revitalized interest in hockey nationwide. The three gold medals will be distributed to the Lake Placid Olympic Center in New York, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Minnesota, and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs for public display and research. The Secretary of the Treasury will design and strike the medals, with costs covered by the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, and may also produce and sell duplicate bronze medals to recover expenses. The bill recognizes that the victory transformed American hockey, with U.S. Hockey registrations increasing nearly 400 percent since 1980 and American players in the NHL growing from 72 to 245.
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