[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 299 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 299

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Thomas Alva Edison, to redesign 
the half dollar circulating coin for 1997 to commemorate Thomas Edison, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 11, 1997

  Mr. Lautenberg (for himself, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Levin, Mr. Inouye, Mr. 
 Coverdell, and Mr. Abraham) introduced the following bill; which was 
read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 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, to redesign 
the half dollar circulating coin for 1997 to commemorate Thomas Edison, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 finds that--
            (1) Thomas Alva Edison, one of America's greatest 
        inventors, was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio;
            (2) the inexhaustible energy and genius of Thomas A. Edison 
        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''; and
            (4) 1997 will mark the sesquicentennial of the birth of 
        Thomas A. Edison.

                      TITLE I--COMMEMORATIVE COINS

SEC. 101. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--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--
            (1) not more than 350,000 $1 coins, each of 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; and
            (2) not more than 350,000 half dollar coins, each of which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 12.50 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 
                copper.
    (b) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this title 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 title shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 102. SOURCES OF BULLION.

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

SEC. 103. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        title 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 title 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 title shall bear the likeness of Thomas A. Edison.
    (b) Design Competition.--Before the end of the 3-month period 
beginning on the date of 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 title.
    (c) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this title 
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. 104. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this title 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 
title.
    (c) Commencement of Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this title beginning on and after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
    (d) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins may be minted under 
this title after July 31, 1998.

SEC. 105. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price.--The coins issued under this title 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 title at a reasonable discount.
    (c) Prepaid Orders.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders 
        for the coins minted under this title 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 of coins minted under this title shall 
include a surcharge of--
            (1) $14 per coin for the $1 coin; and
            (2) $7 per coin for the half dollar coin.

SEC. 106. 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 this 
title.
    (b) Equal Employment Opportunity.--Subsection (a) shall not relieve 
any person entering into a contract under the authority of this title 
from complying with any law relating to equal employment opportunity.

SEC. 107. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

    (a) In General.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 
States Code, the first $7,000,000 of the surcharges received by the 
Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this title shall be 
promptly paid by the Secretary as follows:
            (1) Museum of arts and history.--Up to \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 the life of 
Thomas A. Edison in Port Huron.
            (2) Edison birthplace association.--Up to \1/7\ to the 
        Edison Birthplace Association, Incorporated, in Milan, Ohio, to 
        assist in the efforts of the association 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.
            (3) National park service.--Up to \1/7\ to the National 
        Park Service, for use in protecting, restoring, and cataloguing 
        historic documents and objects at the ``invention factory'' of 
        Thomas A. Edison in West Orange, New Jersey.
            (4) Edison plaza museum.--Up to \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) Edison winter home and museum.--Up to \1/7\ to the 
        Edison Winter Home and Museum in Fort Myers, Florida, for 
        historic preservation, restoration, and maintenance of the 
        historic home and chemical laboratory of Thomas A. Edison.
            (6) Edison institute.--Up to \1/7\ to the Edison Institute, 
        otherwise known as ``Greenfield Village'', in Dearborn, 
        Michigan, for use in maintaining and expanding displays and 
        educational programs associated with Thomas A. Edison.
            (7) Edison memorial tower.--Up to \1/7\ to the Edison 
        Memorial Tower in Edison, New Jersey, for the preservation, 
        restoration, and expansion of the tower and museum.
    (b) Excess Payable to the National Numismatic Collection.--After 
payment of the amounts required under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall pay the remaining surcharges to the National Museum of American 
History in Washington, D.C., for the support of the National Numismatic 
Collection at the museum.
    (c) Audits.--Each organization that receives any payment from the 
Secretary under this section shall be subject to the audit requirements 
of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 108. 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 title will not result in any net cost to the United States 
Government.
    (b) Payment for Coins.--A coin shall not be issued under this title 
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.

                      TITLE II--CIRCULATING COINS

SEC. 201. AUTHORITY TO REDESIGN HALF DOLLAR CIRCULATING COINS.

    Section 5112(d) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the 6th sentence the following: ``At the discretion of 
the Secretary, half dollar coins minted after December 31, 1996, and 
before July 31, 1998, may bear the same design as the commemorative 
coins minted under title I of the Thomas Alva Edison Sesquicentennial 
Commemorative Coin Act, as established under section 103 of that 
Act.''.
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