not to prolong the debate , either , because i know we want to move on , but since 1999 when we passed the coin act , there have been some concerns on our side of the aisle . 
i know that one of the amendments your side has accepted , or that was accepted in the rules committee , it remains to be seen whether it passes or not , that would evenly divide the number of gold medals , that did not exist in the coin bill that passed . 
overwhelmingly it has been one side . 
in terms of bipartisanship , it has not been very bipartisan in terms of coins that have been established . 
according to our records , 15 out of the 16 coin bills that were passed were sponsored by republicans . 
i do not think that is just going to happen under this legislation . 
that is also , i think , some of the fear in terms of changing the rules , for lack of a better word , on the gold medal has stirred up consternation on our side of the aisle . 
i offer that as well . 
i recognize that the minting of a coin is a way that we can bring recognition to individuals and to groups . 
i just do not think that we should be limiting ourselves as the house of representatives and as a congress in reducing our leverage or our ability to honor groups of individuals who have done incredible , incredible works on behalf of this nation . 
i think that is what that provision of the bill will actually end up doing is limiting , tying our hands from honoring groups in the form of the congressional gold medal . 
that is why i stand in opposition to that . 
