119th (2025–2027)
S. 4933
This bill authorizes Congress to award a collective Congressional Gold Medal to individuals who fought for the United States against Imperial Japan in the Pacific theater during World War II and became prisoners of war between December 8, 1941, and August 15, 1945. The medal specifically honors the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines, as well as those who fought in other Pacific locations including Guam, Wake Island, and Midway Island, recognizing their sacrifice under brutal siege conditions and captivity. The medal will be designed by the Secretary of the Treasury and then permanently housed at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, with the expectation that it may be loaned for display at locations associated with Pacific theater battles and prisoner of war sites. The bill also authorizes the Treasury Department to strike and sell duplicate bronze versions of the medal to cover production costs, with any proceeds returned to the United States Mint fund. No specific dollar amount is appropriated since costs will be charged to the existing United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.