[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2453 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2453

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
              of the African-American Civil War veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 11, 1997

    Ms. Norton (for herself, Mr. Cummings, Ms. Christian-Green, Mr. 
Conyers, Mr. Weller, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. 
 Clay, Mr. Frost, Mr. Watts of Oklahoma, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of 
Texas, Mr. Holden, Ms. Rivers, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Pallone, Mr. 
Brown of California, Mr. Filner, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Engel, Mr. Jackson of 
Illinois, Mr. Rush, Mr. Owens, Mr. Berman, Mr. Bishop, Mr. Dellums, Mr. 
  Dixon, Ms. Kilpatrick, Ms. Carson, Mr. Hilliard, Mr. Wynn, and Mr. 
    Ford) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Banking and Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
              of the African-American Civil War veterans.

    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 ``African-American Civil War Memorial 
Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--In commemoration of African-American Civil 
War veterans, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not more than 
500,000 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 sections 5134 and 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 silver for minting coins under this Act 
only from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical 
Materials Stock Piling Act.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the African-American Civil War 
        Memorial.
            (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 ``2001''; 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 
        African-American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation 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 may issue coins minted 
under this Act beginning January 1, 2001.
    (d) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins may be minted under 
this Act after December 31, 2001.

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 $10 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.

    (a) In General.--All surcharges received by the Secretary from the 
sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the 
Secretary to the African-American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation 
for the purpose of supporting the construction and maintenance of an 
African-American Civil War Memorial and the Garnet-Patterson Family 
Heritage Center (Visitors' Center).
    (b) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of the African-American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation as 
may be related to the expenditures of amounts paid under subsection 
(a).

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.
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