[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2978 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2978

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
    of all the brave and gallant Puerto Ricans in the 65th Infantry 
 Regiment of the United States Army who fought in the Korean conflict.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 9, 1997

Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Mr. Gutierrez, and Mr. Serrano) 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 all the brave and gallant Puerto Ricans in the 65th Infantry 
 Regiment of the United States Army who fought in the Korean conflict.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``65th Infantry 
Regiment Commemorative Coin Act''.
    (b) Findings.--The Congress hereby finds that the brave and gallant 
soldiers from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico who comprised the 65th 
Infantry Regiment of the United States Army deserve a special 
commemoration and a commemorative coin for their contributions during 
the Korean conflict for the following reasons:
            (1) The Puerto Rican soldiers of the 65th Infantry Regiment 
        unselfishly fought, bled, and died for the rights and 
        privileges of all citizens of the United States and the 
        Republic of Korea.
            (2) 129 soldiers of the United States Army's 65th Infantry 
        Regiment were awarded the Silver Star and 8 received the 
        Distinguished Service Cross for their heroism during the Korean 
        conflict.
            (3) The 65th Infantry Regiment went to the rescue of the 
        1st Division of the United States Marine Corps in Hagaru-ri 
        when that division was surrounded by forces of the Peoples 
        Republic of China, provided a safe corridor through which the 
        Marines escaped, and formed a protective rear guard during the 
        retreat to Hungnam.
            (4) After bitter fighting, and with the forces of the 
        Peoples Republic of China on their heels, the 65th Infantry 
        Regiment was the last regiment to leave the beachhead in the 
        Christmas eve evacuation of Hungnam on December 24, 1950.
            (5) On the night of February 13-14, 1951, while the 65th 
        Infantry Regiment was encamped near the command post of the 3d 
        Infantry Division of the United States Army during a rest and 
        recreation leave away from the front lines, the command post of 
        the 3d Infantry Division was attacked by over 1,000 North 
        Korean soldiers who had infiltrated through the front lines 
        without being detected and the 65th Infantry Regiment rallied, 
        attacked, and subsequently destroyed the North Korean force, 
        thereby saving the commanding officer and staff of the 3d 
        Infantry Division from death or capture.
            (6) For their heroism in battle, the soldiers of the 65th 
        Infantry Regiment were showered with many accolades but for 
        them perhaps the most significant and meaningful came in the 
        form of a letter from the commander of the United Nations 
        forces in Korea, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur which 
        read in part as follows:
    ``The Puerto Ricans forming the ranks of the gallant 65th Infantry 
Division on the battlefields of Korea by valor, determination and a 
resolute will to victory give daily testament to their invincible 
loyalty to the United States and the fervor of their devotion to those 
immutable standards of human relations to which the Americans and the 
Puerto Ricans are in common dedicated. They are writing a brilliant 
record of achievement in battle and I am proud indeed to have them in 
this command. I wish that we might have many more like them.''.

SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--In commemoration of all the Puerto Ricans in 
the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army who fought in the 
Korean conflict, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not more than 
60,000 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. 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 courage and valor of the Puerto 
        Ricans who served in the 65th Infantry Regiment during the 
        Korean conflict.
            (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 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Puerto Rican Veterans 
        Association of Massachusetts, the Puerto Rican-American 
        Research Institute, 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, 1999.
    (d) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins may be minted under 
this Act after December 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 $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 deposited in the 
Korean War Veterans Memorial Fund for use by the American Battle 
Monuments Commission in accordance with subsection (b).
    (b) Use of Proceeds.--
            (1) Costs relating to the korean war veterans memorial.--
        Except as provided in paragraph (2), amounts deposited in the 
        Korean War Veterans Memorial Fund pursuant to subsection (a) 
        shall be available to the American Battle Monuments Commission 
        for the uses described in section 8(b) of Public Law 101-495.
            (2) Ceremony for the 65th regiment.--The American Battle 
        Monuments Commission shall use such amount of the surcharges 
        from the sale of coins issued as the Commission determines to 
        be necessary and appropriate, after consulting with the Puerto 
        Rican Veterans Association of Massachusetts and the Puerto 
        Rican-American Research Institute, to conduct a ceremony at the 
        Korean War Veterans Memorial commemorating the Puerto Ricans 
        comprising the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army 
        for their service and contributions during the Korean conflict.
    (c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of the American Battle Monuments Commission 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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