[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2026 Received in Senate (RDS)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2026


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 18, 1996

                                Received

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
      of the 200th anniversary of the death of George Washington.

    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 ``George Washington Commemorative Coin 
Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $5 Gold Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not 
more than 100,000 5 dollar coins, which shall--
            (1) weigh 8.359 grams;
            (2) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
            (3) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
    (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 5136 of title 31, 
United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered 
to be numismatic items.

SEC. 3. SOURCES OF BULLION.

    The Secretary shall obtain gold for minting coins under this Act 
pursuant to the authority of the Secretary under other provisions of 
law.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of George Washington.
            (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 year ``1999''; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the 
        Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and the Commission of Fine 
        Arts; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory 
        Committee.

SEC. 5. 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 shall issue coins 
minted under this Act beginning May 1, 1999.
    (d) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins may be minted under 
this Act after November 31, 1999.

SEC. 6. 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 $35 per 
coin.

SEC. 7. 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. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

    Subject to section 10(a), all surcharges received by the Secretary 
from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by 
the Secretary to the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Association'') and shall be used--
            (1) to supplement the Association's endowment for the 
        purpose of providing a permanent source of support for the 
        preservation of George Washington's home; and
            (2) to provide financial support for the continuation and 
        expansion of the Association's efforts to educate the American 
        public about George Washington.

SEC. 9. 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.

SEC. 10. CONDITIONS ON PAYMENT OF SURCHARGES.

    (a) Payment of Surcharges.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, no amount derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on 
the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be paid to the 
Association unless--
            (1) all numismatic operation and program costs allocable to 
        the program under which such coins are produced and sold have 
        been recovered; and
            (2) the Association submits an audited financial statement 
        which demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the 
        Treasury that, with respect to all projects or purposes for 
        which the proceeds of such surcharge may be used, the 
        Association has raised funds from private sources for such 
        projects and purposes in an amount which is equal to or greater 
        than the maximum amount the Association may receive from the 
        proceeds of such surcharge.
    (b) Annual Audits.--
            (1) Annual audits of recipients required.--The Association 
        shall provide, as a condition for receiving any amount derived 
        from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of coins 
        issued under this Act, for an annual audit, in accordance with 
        generally accepted government auditing standards by an 
        independent public accountant selected by the Association, of 
        all such payments to the Association beginning in the first 
        fiscal year of the Association in which any such amount is 
        received and continuing until all such amounts received by the 
        Association with respect to such surcharges are fully expended 
        or placed in trust.
            (2) Minimum requirements for annual audits.--At a minimum, 
        each audit of the Association pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 
        report--
                    (A) the amount of payments received by the 
                Association during the fiscal year of the Association 
                for which the audit is conducted which are derived from 
                the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of 
                coins issued under this Act;
                    (B) the amount expended by the Association from the 
                proceeds of such surcharges during the fiscal year of 
                the Association for which the audit is conducted; and
                    (C) whether all expenditures by the Association 
                from the proceeds of such surcharges during the fiscal 
                year of the Association for which the audit is 
                conducted were for authorized purposes.
            (3) Responsibility of association to account for 
        expenditures of surcharges.--The Association shall take 
        appropriate steps, as a condition for receiving any payment of 
        any amount derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed 
        on the sale of coins issued under this Act, to ensure that the 
        receipt of the payment and the expenditure of the proceeds of 
        such surcharge by the Association in each fiscal year of the 
        Association can be accounted for separately from all other 
        revenues and expenditures of the Association.
            (4) Submission of audit report.--Not later than 90 days 
        after the end of any fiscal year of the Association for which 
        an audit is required under paragraph (1), the Association 
        shall--
                    (A) submit a copy of the report to the Secretary of 
                the Treasury; and
                    (B) make a copy of the report available to the 
                public.
            (5) Use of surcharges for audits.--The Association may use 
        any amount received from payments derived from the proceeds of 
        any surcharge imposed on the sale of coins issued under this 
        Act to pay the cost of an audit required under paragraph (1).
            (6) Waiver of subsection.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
        may waive the application of any paragraph of this subsection 
        to the Association for any fiscal year after taking into 
        account the amount of surcharges which the Association received 
        or expended during such year.
            (7) Availability of books and records.--The Association 
        shall provide, as a condition for receiving any payment derived 
        from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of coins 
        issued under this Act, to the Inspector General of the 
        Department of the Treasury or the Comptroller General of the 
        United States, upon the request of such Inspector General or 
        the Comptroller General, all books, records, and workpapers 
        belonging to or used by the Association, or by any independent 
        public accountant who audited the Association in accordance 
        with paragraph (1), which may relate to the receipt or 
        expenditure of any such amount by the Association.
    (c) Use of Agents or Attorneys to Influence Commemorative Coin 
Legislation.--No portion of any payment to the Association from amounts 
derived from the proceeds of surcharges imposed on the sale of coins 
issued under this Act may be used, directly or indirectly, by the 
Association to compensate any agent or attorney for services rendered 
to support or influence in any way legislative action of the Congress 
relating to the coins minted and issued under this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 17, 1996.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.