1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team captain Mike Eruzione and his grandson, Leo Callinan, view Olympic medals at the Lake Placid Olympic Museum in July 2023. (Enterprise photo — Arthur Maiorella)

LAKE PLACID — A bill that would have the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury create three Congressional Gold Medals recognizing the “Miracle on Ice” hockey team will soon be on President Donald Trump’s desk to sign into law. One of the proposed locations for these awards is the Lake Placid Olympic Center.

The Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act, procedurally known as H.R.452, passed through the Senate on Sept. 9, and, following the correction of a minor “drafting error,” was passed through the House of Representatives on Monday.

North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik, who co-sponsored the original bill — H.R.9950 — which was introduced in September 2024, and co-sponsored this one, which was reintroduced in January, expects it to reach the president’s desk in October or November.

“I anticipate there will be a wonderful White House ceremony, but the actual minting of the medals takes some time,” she said on Wednesday. “That can take a year and we’re working with the U.S. Mint on that. After those medals are minted, because they’re made especially for that team in recognition, we will look forward to doing an event in Lake Placid and in Minnesota.”

The legislation would award the 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team with three gold medals, one of which will be displayed at the Olympic Center. The other two will go to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Minnesota.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the nation’s oldest award for civilians, with the first medal awarded to George Washington in 1776. They are given to a range of individuals, from soldiers and politicians to inventors and celebrities.

In 2024, medals were awarded to the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War; tennis player Billie Jean King; the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust, Shirley Chrisholm, the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress; the Army Signal Corps “Hello Girls” who served during World War II and Navy officer Everett Alvarez Jr., who endured one of the longest periods as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.

To date, only 190 medals have been issued. Stefanik, who has been vocal in support of the 1980 players and even referenced the event in her first House floor speech on the 35th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, said this is a much-deserved recognition for these players.

“To pass now, the congressional medal for the winning team in the 1980 Olympics for the Miracle on Ice is such a victory in recognition for Lake Placid, for the region and for my district and, of course, for the winning team,” she said. “That game was one of — if not the most important — moment in sports in the entire 20th century, because it was not only a victory of amateur American athletes, who outworked and out hustled their Soviet counterparts, but the world was watching. I believe that victory led to geopolitical outcomes with the fall of communism in the Soviet Union, and really epitomizes what it means to be an American.”

The bill passed through both the House and Senate with bipartisan support. Among the 299 cosponsors are representatives from 48 states — excluding Hawaii and Vermont — and three territories of American Samoa, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands.

The bill was first introduced in the House by Republican Minnesota Rep. Peter Stauber, a semi-professional hockey player, who played for the now-defunct Adirondack Red Wings based in Glens Falls in the 1990s.

In the Senate, it was introduced by Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota. New York’s U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was among the nine original co-sponsors of the bill, later joined by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Now, it’s looking well on its way to being signed into law.

Just last week, Stefanik met with President Trump and other White House officials during a New York Yankees game on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. While the bill didn’t come up in her conversations with him then, she said she’s talked with him about it over the years. Stefanik added that Trump loves Lake Placid and New York.

“President Trump is very excited about this. He’s very close with many of the ‘Miracle’ hockey players,” she said. “It’s going to get signed. We’re working with the White House about timing the event so the ‘Miracle’ hockey players are able to come.”

While Stefanik was born four years after the 1980 Olympics, she said the Games are not only very special to her, but to her family as well.

“My dad was actually in Lake Placid when they won that game at the 1980 Olympics,” she said. “So I grew up hearing stories of what it was like to just be in the small village of Lake Placid on that historic night, just something that people will never forget, just like people that were viewing on their TVs, they will never forget it.”

Along with the occasional trips to this village to watch her younger brother’s hockey games while growing up, Stefanik also got engaged here (tinyurl.com/hampdt34) and said she not only grew up skiing at Whiteface Mountain, but also taught her son to ski there as well.

“I will tell you, in my Washington office, I have a number of memorabilia from throughout my district, and the most commented and most beloved item I have is a jersey from Mike Eruzione,” she said. “His number was actually 21 and my district number is 21. Eruzione, of course, scored the winning goal. He has become a personal friend.”

Stefanik said she met with Eruzione, the 1980 Olympic team captain, at the Capitol a few months ago, and he helped gather support for the bill and celebrated its passage.

“Finding out our Olympic team is going to receive the congressional gold medal,” he posted on X. “An unbelievable honor people saying that at the time our country was looking for something to feel good about and it happened to be our team. Well we could use a 1980 moment again RIP Charlie Kirk.”

Along with Eruzione, the 1980 team roster includes fellow forwards Neal Broten, Steve Christoff, John Harrington, Mark Johnson, Rob McClanahan, Mark Pavelich, Buzz Schneider, Dave Silk, Eric Strobel, Phil Verchota and Mark Wells; defensemen Bill Baker, Dave Christian, Ken Morrow, Jack O’Callahan, Mike Ramsey and Bob Suter; and goalies Jim Craig and Steve Janaszak.

The bill can be found at tinyurl.com/4ab7uzka.