[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5255 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5255

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
      of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Thomas Alva Edison.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 7, 1994

  Mr. Bonior (for himself, Mr. Brooks, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Pallone, Mr. 
    Gillmor, Mr. Payne of New Jersey, and Mr. Goss) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, Finance 
                           and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
      of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Thomas Alva Edison.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Thomas Alva Edison Sesquicentennial 
Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress hereby finds the following:
            (1) Thomas Alva Edison, one of America's greatest 
        inventors, was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio.
            (2) Thomas A. Edison's inexhaustible energy and genius 
        produced more than 1,300 inventions in his lifetime, including 
        the incandescent light bulb and the phonograph.
            (3) In 1928, Thomas A. Edison received the Congressional 
        gold medal ``for development and application of inventions that 
        have revolutionized civilization in the last century''.
            (4) 1997 will mark the sesquicentennial of Thomas A. 
        Edison's birth.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--In commemoration of the sesquicentennial of 
the birth of Thomas A. Edison, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not 
more than 750,000 1 dollar coins, which shall--
            (1) weigh 26.73 grams;
            (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
            (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.
    (b) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be legal 
tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.
    (c) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered 
to be numismatic items.

SEC. 4. SOURCES OF BULLION.

    The Secretary shall obtain silver for minting coins under this Act 
only from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical 
Materials Stock Piling Act.

SEC. 5. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the many inventions made by Thomas 
        A. Edison throughout his prolific life.
            (2) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin minted 
        under this Act there shall be--
                    (A) a designation of the value of the coin;
                    (B) an inscription of the years 1847-1997''; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
            (3) Obverse of coin.--The obverse of each coin minted under 
        this Act shall bear the likeness of Thomas A. Edison.
    (b) Design Competition.--Before the end of the 3-month period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
conduct an open design competition for the design of the obverse and 
the reverse of the coins minted under this Act.
    (c) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the 
        Commission of Fine Arts; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory 
        Committee.

SEC. 6. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued 
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
    (b) Mint Facility.--Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may 
be used to strike any particular quality of the coins minted under this 
Act.
    (c) Commencement of Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act beginning January 1, 1997.
    (d) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins may be minted under 
this Act after December 31, 1997.

SEC. 7. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be sold by 
the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
            (1) the face value of the coins;
            (2) the surcharge provided in subsection (d) with respect 
        to such coins; and
            (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including 
        labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, 
        marketing, and shipping).
    (b) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins 
issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
    (c) Prepaid Orders.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders 
        for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of such 
        coins.
            (2) Discount.--Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders 
        under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.
    (d) Surcharges.--All sales shall include a surcharge of $10 per 
coin.

SEC. 8. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no provision 
of law governing procurement or public contracts shall be applicable to 
the procurement of goods and services necessary for carrying out the 
provisions of this Act.
    (b) Equal Employment Opportunity.--Subsection (a) shall not relieve 
any person entering into a contract under the authority of this Act 
from complying with any law relating to equal employment opportunity.

SEC. 9. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

    (a) In General.--The first $7,000,000 of the surcharges received by 
the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be 
promptly paid by the Secretary as follows:
            (1) \1/7\ to the Edison Birthplace Association, 
        Incorporated, in Milan, Ohio, to assist in such association's 
        efforts to raise an endowment as a permanent source of support 
        for the repair and maintenance of the Thomas A. Edison 
        birthplace, a national historic landmark.
            (2) \1/7\ to the Museum of Arts and History, in the city of 
        Port Huron, Michigan for the endowment and construction of a 
        special museum on Thomas A. Edison's life in Port Huron.
            (3) \1/7\ to the National Park Service for use in 
        protecting, restoring, and cataloguing historic documents and 
        objects at Thomas A. Edison's ``invention factory'' in West 
        Orange, New Jersey.
            (4) \1/7\ to the Edison Plaza Museum in Beaumont, Texas, 
        for expanding educational programs on Thomas A. Edison and for 
        the repair and maintenance of the museum.
            (5) \1/7\ to the Edison Winter Home and Museum in Fort 
        Myers, Florida, for historic preservation, restoration, and 
        maintenance of Thomas A. Edison's historic home and chemical 
        laboratory.
            (6) \1/7\ to the Edison Memorial Tower in Edison, New 
        Jersey, for the preservation, restoration, and expansion of the 
        tower and museum.
            (7) \1/7\ to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, for 
        use in maintaining and expanding displays and educational 
        programs associated with Thomas A. Edison.
    (b) Excess Payable to the National Numismatic Collection.--After 
payment of the amount required under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall pay the remaining surcharges to the National Museum of American 
History, Washington, D.C., for the support of the National Numismatic 
Collection at the museum.
    (c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of any organization which receives any payment from the Secretary 
under this section, as may be related to the expenditures of amounts 
paid under this subsection.

SEC. 10. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.

    (a) No Net Cost to the Government.--The Secretary shall take such 
actions as may be necessary to ensure that minting and issuing coins 
under this Act will not result in any net cost to the United States 
Government.
    (b) Payment for Coins.--A coin shall not be issued under this Act 
unless the Secretary has received--
            (1) full payment for the coin;
            (2) security satisfactory to the Secretary to indemnify the 
        United States for full payment; or
            (3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to the 
        Secretary from a depository institution whose deposits are 
        insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the 
        National Credit Union Administration Board.
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