[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2033-E2034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E2033]]

REINTRODUCTION OF THE GIFT OF LIFE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL ACT OF 1995

______

HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

of california

in the house of representatives

Thursday, October 26, 1995

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, today I take great pride in reintroducing the
Gift of Life Congressional Medal Act of 1995 along with our colleagues
Floyd Spence, Joe Moakley, James Walsh, Gerald Kleczka, Nancy Pelosi,
Karen Thurman, George Brown, Randy Cunningham, Martin Frost, and Victor
Frazer. I believe the enactment of this legislation will not only honor
the individual organ donor and their loved ones, but will also heighten
the awareness of the organ shortage--ultimately resulting in more organ
donation.
Despite the numerous problems that organ donation programs have faced
and conquered over the years, a major problem still exists--an
undersupply of available and suitable organ donors.
Currently, there are 40,000 individuals waiting for an organ
transplant in the United States. A new name is added to the national
patient waiting list approximately every 18 minutes. Last year alone,
more than 3,000 adults and children died while waiting for an organ.
Just yesterday, approximately eight individuals, suitable for a
transplant operation, died while waiting for a transplantation.
The demand for organs will continue to grow with the improvement of
medical technologies, and without expanded efforts to increase the
supply of organ donation, the supply of suitable organs will continue
to lag behind the need.
According to some researchers, it may be possible to increase by 80
percent the number of organ donations in the United States through
incentive programs and public education. A congressional medal
recognizing donors and their families can play a very important and
effective role in our efforts to encourage such donation.
Our proposed Gift of Life Medal Program will be administered by
regional organ procurement organizations (OPOs) and managed by the
entity administering the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.
Once the very difficult decision to donate an organ has been made, the
donor or the family member of the donor will be asked by the regional
OPO whether participation in the Gift of Life Medal Program is desired.
The OPO will give each donor or family of the donor the option of
receiving a Gift of Life Medal, recognizing that some donors and
families may not want to participate. If the donor or the family of a
donor requests, a public presentation will be made to honor the donor.
A presentation by a local official, community leader or Member of
Congress would be a tremendous opportunity to increase the awareness
concerning the desperate need for organ donation.
Every action has been taken to insure that the issuance of the Gift
of Life Medals results in no net cost to the Government. In addition, I
am proud to report that the legislation has the strong support of the
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and the National Kidney
Foundation.
It is with great pleasure that I ask our colleagues to join with us
as cosponsors of the Gift of Life Congressional Medal Act of 1995 and
recognize the enormous faith and courage displayed by organ donors and
their families. They offer others a second chance by providing the most
precious gift imaginable--the gift of life.

H.R.--

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Gift of Life Congressional
Medal Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL.

The Secretary of the Treasury shall design and strike a
bronze medal with suitable emblems, devices, and
inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary of the
Treasury, to commemorate organ donors and their families.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.

(a) In General.--Any organ donor, or the family of any
organ donor, shall be eligible for a medal described in
section 2.
(b) Documentation.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall direct the entity holding the Organ
Procurement and Transplantation Network (hereafter in this
Act referred to as ``OPTN'') to contract to--
(1) establish an application procedure requiring the
relevant organ procurement organization, as described in
section 371(b)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
273(b)(1)), through which an individual or their family made
an organ donation, to submit to the OPTN contractor
documentation supporting the eligibility of that individual
or their family to receive a medal described in section 2;
and
(2) determine, through the documentation provided, and, if
necessary, independent investigation, whether the individual
or family is eligible to receive a medal described in section
2.

SEC. 4. PRESENTATION.

(a) Delivery to the Secretary of Health and Human
Services.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall deliver medals
struck pursuant to this Act to the Secretary of Health and
Human Services.
(b) Delivery to Eligible Recipients.--The Secretary of
Health and Human Services shall direct the OPTN contractor to
arrange for the presentation to the relevant organ
procurement organization all medals struck pursuant to this
Act to individuals or families that, in accordance with
section 3, the OPTN contractor has determined to be eligible
to receive medals under this Act.
(c) Limitation.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), only
1 medal may be presented to a family under subsection (b).
(2) Exception.--In the case of a family in which more than
1 member is an organ donor, the OPTN contractor may present
an additional medal to each such organ donor or their family.

SEC. 5. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
or the OPTN contractor may provide duplicates of the medal
described in section 2 to any recipient of a medal under
section 4(b), under such regulations as the Secretary of
Health and Human Services may issue.
(b) Limitation.--The price of a duplicate medal shall be
sufficient to cover the cost of such duplicates.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL MEDALS.

The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals
for purposes of section 5111 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 7. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS.

No provision of law governing procurement or public
contracts shall be applicable to the procurement of goods or
services necessary for carrying out the provisions of this
Act.

SEC. 8. SOLICITATION OF DONATIONS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury may enter
into an agreement with the OPTN contractor to collect funds
to offset expenditures relating to the issuance of medals
authorized under this Act.
(b) Payment of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), all
funds received by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation
Network under subsection (a) shall be promptly paid by the
Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to the
Secretary of the Treasury.
(2) Limitation.--Not more than 5 percent of any funds
received under subsection (a) shall be used to pay
administrative costs incurred by the OPTN contractor as a
result of an agreement established under this section.
(c) Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law--
(1) all amounts received by the Secretary of the Treasury
under subsection (b)(1) shall be deposited in the Numismatic
Public Enterprise Fund, as described in section 5134 of title
31, United States Code; and
(2) the Secretary of the Treasury shall charge such fund
with all expenditures relating to the issuance of medals
authorized under this Act.
(d) Start-Up Costs.--A 1-time amount not to exceed $55,000
shall be provided to the OPTN contractor to cover initial
start-up costs. The amount will be paid back in full within 3
years of the date of the enactment of this Act from funds
received under subsection (a).
(e) No Net Cost to the Government.--The Secretary of the
Treasury shall take all actions necessary to ensure that the
issuance of medals authorized under section 2 results in no
net cost to the Government.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of this Act--
(1) the term ``organ'' means the human kidney, liver,
heart, lung, pancreas, and any other human organ (other than
corneas and eyes) specified by regulation of the Secretary of
Health and Human Services or the OPTN contractor; and
(2) the term ``Organ Procurement and Transplantation
Network'' means the Organ Procurement and Transplantation
Network established under section 372 of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 274).

[[Page E2034]]

TRIBUTE TO BILL MILANO

______

HON. GEORGE MILLER

of california

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, October 25, 1995

Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to
Bill Milano of Pittsburg, CA, who was honored by his brothers and
sisters in the labor community and the city of Pittsburg last Saturday,
October, 14, 1995, when the United Steelworkers Union Local 1440
renamed its union hall for him, their founder and distinguished leader.
First and always, Bill Milano is a union man who grew up in the coal
mines of Kansas and moved west to work in the steel mills of Pittsburg,
CA. He is the very heart and soul of the United Steelworkers Local
1440, having served in every possible capacity for over 50 years. Even
in retirement, he is a constant source of pride, enthusiasm, and
inspiration for his fellow union members.
Not only is Bill Milano a leader in union halls, he has also served
his community with distinction and honor as a former member of the
Pittsburg City Council, founder and member of the Pittsburg Boys club,
and service to the Pittsburg Red Cross, Pittsburg Community Hospital,
Contra Costa Park and Recreational Council, Pittsburg Schools PTA
organizations, Pittsburg Lions Club, Boy Scout troops, American Cancer
Society and many, many more community service organizations. His long-
time support of Ducks Unlimited and his keen interest in hunting is
legendary among his family and friends.
I grew up hearing about Bill Milano from my father and how he
organized local party politics in Pittsburg at a time when only shoe
leather and hard work got your people elected to office. Bill Milano
supported my father in his campaigns for the California State Senate,
as well as my elections to the U.S. House of Representatives. He has
been a friend of our family for three generations, and I am proud to
call Bill Milano my friend.
I would like to share with my colleagues the attached article from
the Ledger Dispatch, Wednesday, October 4, 1995, ``Bid for Better Life
Lead to Long Union Career.''

[From the Ledger Dispatch, Oct. 4, 1995]

Bid For Better Life Led to Long Union Career

(By Sam Richards)

Pittsburg, CA.--Bill Milano came to Pittsburg on a freight
train in 1939, looking for a better life for his family.
Now, almost two decades after retiring from his job as
financial secretary of United Steelworkers Local 1440, Milano
will have his name attached to the Steelworkers' building in
Cumberland Street.
For a guy who has spent the past 53 years either working or
volunteering at the union hall, a guy who helped oversee
tremendous growth of the local during World War II, and then
saw the union shrink again as local steel employment declined
. . . is this honor a surprise?
Yes, in a way, the 82-year-old Milano said.
``I've been retired 17 years and they've never done a damn
thing to honor me,'' said Milano, with a smile on his face.
``But I never really pursued that anyway.''
Milano's time has finally come. Local 1440 will formally
rename their building after Milano at a ceremony Oct. 14 at
the building, 677 Cumberland Ave. Everyone is invited to
attend that, and a reception following at the Marina
Clubhouse, 31 Marina Blvd.
``This isn't just any man . . . this is the man,'' said
Rose Cavallaro, office secretary for Local 1440 since 1959.
``He's the `godfather' of the local union; he's the one who
got the union going.''
Milano grew up in Kansas, and was working in the coal mines
there in strip mine shafts and driving a steam locomotive
shuffling coal hopper cars. But he wanted something better
for his family.
``The coal mines just weren't working too good,'' he said.
``We'd heard a lot about California, so we went to
California.''
Without enough money to take a passenger train, Milano and
a friend hopped a Frisco Railway freight train near Cherokee,
Kan., Aug. 14, 1939. A week later, they arrived in Pittsburg
on a Santa Fe freight train. Within days, both were working
at the Columbia Steel Co. mill, Milano as a ``reeler''
putting steel wire onto reels to be galvanized.
Also, Milano found the local union office quickly.
``I'd had `union' drilled into me by my dad and everyone
around me for years,'' Milano said. ``The first thing I did
was go down to the union.''
In 1942, he was elected 1440's financial secretary, a post
he held until 1979. During that time, he saw the union change
from the Steelworkers Organizing Committee to the United
Steelworkers Union of America. Milano also oversaw wartime
expansion at Columbia Steel swell union membership from about
265 to more than 4,000.
Milano also plunged into community involvement in
Pittsburg. He served on the City Council from 1944 until
1952, helped found the Pittsburg Boys Club (the predecessor
of the East County Boys and Girls Club), was a secretary for
the Contra Costa Grand Jury and numerous other civic,
fraternal and local school activities.
His wife, Virginia died in 1990. And the USS-POSCO
Industries plant in Pittsburg employees number fewer than
1,000 people now. But he is still involved with Local 1440
activities.
``Anytime there's something wrong here down at the union,
Bill gets involved,'' said Carl Meilicke, 43, a former U.S.
Steel employee in Pittsburg. ``He started the union, and he
knows more about it than anyone.''
The union hall opened in the 1940s. It almost didn't
outlast Milano, because the city had wanted to knock it down
as part of redevelopment in 1992.
As it was. The Village at New York Landing housing tract
was literally built around the union hall, which also
includes the Union Club tavern.
``If you start pushing us, we'll get the whole rank and
file coming after you'' Cavallaro said. ``We're never going
to leave this building now.''
Still a hunter and fisherman, Milano gave up abalone diving
only two years ago. But he hasn't given up being involved in
politics; in keeping with union tradition, he's supported,
almost exclusively, Democrats over the years. This includes
three generations of George Millers, including. Assembly
candidate George Miller IV . . . sort of.
``I know him and I'm friends with Tom Torlakson (Miller's
election opponent),'' Milano said. ``I told them, `Whoever
wins the primary, I'll put my full weight behind you.'''
Tickets to the Bill Milano Building's dedication are $10
each, and are available by call 432-7396.

____________________