# Plain Language Summary: Mercury 13 Congressional Gold Medal Act

This bill honors thirteen women pilots who were tested for astronaut fitness in the 1960s but were never allowed to go to space because of their gender. These women, known as the Mercury 13, underwent the same rigorous physical and psychological tests that NASA was using to select male astronauts for the Mercury Project. Some of them actually performed better than the male astronauts who were chosen, but doors remained closed to them simply because they were women. Two of these women, Jerrie Cobb and Jane Hart, testified before Congress about this discrimination two years before the Civil Rights Act was passed, making them early advocates for gender equality in the workplace.

The bill authorizes Congress to award a single Congressional Gold Medal to recognize the Mercury 13's historic accomplishments and their role in advancing women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The medal will be designed by the Secretary of the Treasury and then placed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, where it will be displayed and available for research. The bill also allows the Treasury Department to make and sell bronze copies of the medal to cover the costs of creating it, with any money from those sales going back into the U.S. Mint's budget.

This is essentially a symbolic honor with no direct impact on everyday Americans. It doesn't change any laws or create new programs. Instead, it's Congress's way of officially recognizing these women's contributions to breaking down gender barriers in aviation and space exploration, and using their story to inspire future generations of women to pursue careers in science and technology.

Mercury 13 Congressional Gold Medal Act

Houlahan, Chrissy

Mercury 13 Congressional Gold Medal ActThis bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate the Mercury 13 in recognition of their accomplishments as part of the First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs) Program (a privately funded project testing women pilots for astronaut fitness in the 1960s), their work for gender equity, and their example of women in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.