[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3790 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3790

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
            of the bicentennial of the Library of Congress.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 1998

  Mr. Thomas 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 bicentennial of the Library of Congress.

    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 ``Library of Congress Bicentennial 
Commemorative Coin Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following coins:
            (1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 100,000 $5 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 500,000 $1 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 26.73 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 
                copper.
    (b) Bimetallic Coins.--The Secretary may mint and issue not more 
than 200,000 $10 bimetallic coins of gold and platinum instead of the 
gold coins required under subsection (a)(1) in accordance with such 
specifications as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
    (c) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be legal 
tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 3. SOURCES OF BULLION.

    (a) Platinum and Gold.--The Secretary shall obtain platinum and 
gold for minting coins under this Act from available sources.
    (b) Silver.--The Secretary may obtain silver for minting coins 
under this Act from stockpiles established under the Strategic and 
Critical Materials Stock Piling Act and from other available sources.

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 Library of Congress.
            (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 ``2000''; 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 
        Library of Congress 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 combination of denomination and 
quality of the coins minted under this Act.
    (c) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the period beginning on January 1, 2000, and 
ending on December 31, 2000.
    (d) Promotion Consultation.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) consult with the Library of Congress in order to 
        establish a role for the Library of Congress in the promotion, 
        advertising, and marketing of the coins minted under this Act; 
        and
            (2) if the Secretary determines that such action would be 
        beneficial to the sale of coins minted under this Act, enter 
        into a contract with the Library of Congress to carry out the 
        role established under paragraph (1).

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 established by 
the Secretary, in an amount equal to not more than--
            (1) $50 per coin for the $10 coin or $35 per coin for the 
        $5 coin; and
            (2) $5 per coin for the $1 coin.

SEC. 7. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

    All surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins 
issued under this Act shall be paid by the Secretary to the Library of 
Congress Trust Fund Board in accordance with section 5134(f) of title 
31, United States Code (as added by section 529(b)(2) of the Treasury, 
Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1997), to be 
used for the purpose of supporting bicentennial programs, educational 
outreach activities (including schools and libraries), and other 
activities of the Library of Congress.
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