# 119-hr-3498: Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold Medal Act

119-hr-3498, Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold Medal Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Mfume, Kweisi [D-MD-7] (D-MD); status introduced (as of 2026-10-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3498
- As of: 2026-10-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-3498
- Congress: 119
- Title: Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold Medal Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-05-19
- Sponsor: Rep. Mfume, Kweisi [D-MD-7] (D-MD)
- Cosponsors: 35
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-18

## Summary

**Recognition of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cell line**. This bill would authorize a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal honoring Henrietta Lacks for the HeLa cells that became the first known immortal human cell line and helped drive major medical advances, including the polio vaccine and treatments for cancer and HIV. It would direct the Smithsonian to display the medal, allow the U.S. Mint to strike and sell bronze duplicates to cover costs, and use the Mint Public Enterprise Fund to pay for medal production.

## Cosponsors (35)

- Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3] (D-OH), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClain Delaney, April [D-MD-6] (D-MD), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] (D-IL), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1] (D-NC), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3] (D-MD), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3] (D-PA), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6] (D-LA), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Foushee, Valerie P. [D-NC-4] (D-NC), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hoyer, Steny H. [D-MD-5] (D-MD), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ivey, Glenn [D-MD-4] (D-MD), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2] (D-IL), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8] (D-MA), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10] (D-NJ), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Olszewski, Johnny [D-MD-2] (D-MD), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Plaskett, Stacey E. [D-VI-At Large] (D-VI), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8] (D-MD), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] (D-MS), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5] (D-GA), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24] (D-FL), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brown, Shontel M. [D-OH-11] (D-OH), 2025-05-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2025-05-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3] (D-IL), 2025-06-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Scott, David [D-GA-13] (D-GA), 2025-06-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ), 2025-06-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT), 2025-06-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2] (D-AL), 2025-07-02T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Bronze medal replicas for collectors: mixed, low. If enacted, the Treasury could have the U.S. Mint make and sell bronze copies of the gold medal. Prices would need to cover costs like labor, materials, and machine time. Money from sales would go into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund. That Fund could be used to pay the costs of making…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-2763: American Family Act
- 119-hr-17: Paycheck Fairness Act
- 119-hr-14: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2550: Protect America's Workforce Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-3498 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3498)

## Related
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-2763: American Family Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2763)
- [119-hr-17: Paycheck Fairness Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-17)
- [119-hr-14: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-14)
- [119-hr-2550: Protect America's Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2550)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3498 (as of 2026-10-18).