Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner Congressional Gold Medal Act

(1) Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner was born to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Harris and Ida Kirsner on September 21, 1909, in Boston, Massachusetts.

(2) Dr. Kirsner earned his medical degree from Tufts University, graduating near the top of his class, in 1933.

(3) In 1935, Dr. Kirsner joined the staff of the first academic gastroenterology unit in the United States at the University of Chicago.

(4) Dr. Kirsner earned his PhD in gastroenterology from the University of Chicago in 1942.

(5) Dr. Kirsner joined the United States Army Medical Corps as a First Lieutenant in September 1943 and served three years with the 15th, 203rd, and 229th General Hospitals.

(6) Dr. Kirsner was one of the few doctors consulted on the refeeding of Holocaust survivors.

(7) Dr. Kirsner continuously fought to increase and diversify research funding for gastroenterology.

(8) In 1962, Dr. Kirsner, along with a group of his patients, the Section of Gastroenterology, and the University of Chicago established the Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation.

(9) Dr. Kirsner received every major award and honor for gastroenterology throughout his career, except the one award he was ineligible to win, the American Digestive Health Foundation’s top prize for excellence in clinical research, the Joseph B. Kirsner Award.

(10) Dr. Kirsner was a pioneer in gastroenterology who dedicated his life to medicine, teaching, and patient care.

(11) Dr. Kirsner conducted invaluable research on peptic ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, and Crohn’s disease, and made numerous breakthroughs in the field on patient management and cancer risk.

(12) Dr. Kirsner trained over 200 fellows, including more than 41 full professors, and 14 department chairs in gastroenterology.

(13) Throughout his career Dr. Kirsner authored over 750 scientific papers and 18 textbooks, which are the leading teaching materials on gastroenterology.

(14) Dr. Kirsner was instrumental in founding the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the Gastroenterology Research Group (American Gastroenterological Association), and the National Foundation for Research in Ulcerative Colitis, among others.

(15) Dr. Kirsner continued to treat patients until he retired in 2010, at the age of 100.

(16) Dr. Kirsner passed away from kidney failure on July 7, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois.

(17) The Congress has awarded similar medals to other doctors for their outstanding contributions to the medical field, including Major Walter Reed and his associates in 1928, Dr. Thomas Anthony Dooley III in 1961, Dr. Jonas E. Salk in 1977, and Dr. Michael Ellis DeBakey in 2007.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner, in recognition of his service to the United States during World War II and his contributions to the medical field, particularly gastroenterology.

For the purposes of the award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the Secretary) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. The design shall bear an image of, and inscription of the name of, Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner.

After the award of the gold medal referred to in subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the University of Chicago, where it shall be displayed as appropriate in the Joseph B. Kirsner library and made available for research.

It is the sense of Congress that the University of Chicago should make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events associated with Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner.

Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

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.

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 under this Act.

Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.