WASHINGTON - A bill that would award Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the Miracle on Ice hockey team made its way out of the U.S. House earlier this week and has a promising future in the Senate.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber, a former professional hockey player, would award three Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the U.S. Olympic men’s ice hockey team that beat the Soviet Union during the 1980 Winter Olympics.
The bill has bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, as well as neighboring GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota.
Having bipartisan support for the bill means it is likely to pass out of both chambers of Congress. It passed the House on Monday. A Senate version is in committee.
“Coach Herb Brooks and his team of young hockey players defied all odds, proving that miracles are possible when we need them most,” Stauber said in a statement.
“At a time when our nation was in desperate need of hope, they united us in belief and patriotism. Minnesotans played a vital role in this unforgettable victory, so it fills me with immense pride to have helped pushed this legislation through the House,” he added. Brooks and 12 of the team’s players hailed from Minnesota.
Those Congressional Gold Medals would be kept at three locations: the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minn.; the Lake Placid Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y.; and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“The Congressional Gold Medal is a very fitting and well-deserved honor for our 1980 Olympic Team, and we look forward to the Senate passing its version of the bill in the very near future,” said Pat Kelleher in a statement, the executive director of USA Hockey.
