WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-5) and Paul Gosar (AZ-4) have introduced H.R. 750, a bipartisan measure to honor Former Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall with the Congressional Gold Medal for his years of public service.

Secretary Udall was a champion for the environment and conservation, a civil rights activist, an advocate for Native American rights, and a supporter for the arts.

“This bill will ensure Secretary Udall receives the recognition he earned,” said Thompson. “He made our country a better place by protecting our lands, enriching our lives with more access to fine arts, fighting to desegregate our schools and communities, and advocating for our Native Americans. He deserves the Congressional Gold Medal.”

“Stewart Udall served Arizona and our nation admirably in the military, in Congress, and finally as Secretary of the Interior for over twenty years,” said Gosar. “Today his legacy lives on and he deserves this important recognition.”

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award Congress can confer upon an individual.

Stewart Udall dedicated his life of public service. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 and was a B24 waist gunner in Italy during World War II. During that time, he flew more than 50 missions, earning him the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.

After returning home and obtaining a law degree from the University of Arizona, Mr. Udall served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1960, President Kennedy appointed him as Secretary of the Interior, a position he held for eight years.

During his cabinet career, Secretary Udall helped guide numerous landmark conservation and ecological protection measures through Congress. Secretary Udall’s worked influenced every state in the nation and continues to improve our natural resources to this day.

Secretary Stewart Udall helped create some of our nation’s most beautiful parks, monuments, and historic places. Some of these majestic landscapes include:

• Point Reyes National Seashore;
• Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area;
• John Muir National Historic Site, Canyonlands National Park;
• San Juan Island National Historic Park;
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park;
• Marble Canyon National Monument (now a part of the Grand Canyon National park);
• Redwood National Park.

Secretary Udall’s foresight in selecting these important landscapes has created landmarks that millions of visitors continue to visit today.

During his cabinet career, Secretary Stewart Udall also fought against segregation. He successfully broke down barriers when he threatened to refuse the all-white Washington Redskins access to a new D.C. stadium, of which he was the Federal landlord. This was the first time in history when the federal government attempted to desegregate a professional sports team.

After his cabinet career, Mr. Udall continued helping the American people by advocating for victims of radiation exposure, particularly Native Americans, resulting from the government’s Cold War nuclear programs. As a private attorney in the 1970s and '80s, he won a 30-year battle to get Navajo uranium miners compensated for lung cancer incurred on the job. He also helped pass the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990.

Secretary Udall died in 2010. Stewart Udall is the father of Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and the uncle of Senator Mark Udall (D-CO).

The legislation was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.