H.R. 7623

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

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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.
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