[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 732 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 732

  To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue coins in 
commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the first manned flight 
of Orville and Wilbur Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 
                               17, 1903.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 8, 1997

   Mr. Faircloth (for himself, Mr. Helms, Mr. DeWine, Ms. Snowe, Ms. 
    Collins, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Mack, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Abraham, Mr. 
   Santorum, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Warner, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. 
  Murkowski) 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 and issue coins in 
commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the first manned flight 
of Orville and Wilbur Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 
                               17, 1903.

    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 ``First Flight Commemorative Coin Act 
of 1997''.

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) $10 gold coins.--Not more than 500,000 $10 coins, each 
        of which shall--
                    (A) weigh 16.718 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.06 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 3,000,000 $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.
            (3) Half dollar clad coins.--Not more than 10,000,000 half 
        dollar coins each of which shall--
                    (A) weigh 11.34 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and
                    (C) be minted to the specifications for half dollar 
                coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United 
                States Code.
    (b) Reduced Amounts.--If the Secretary determines that there is 
clear evidence of insufficient public demand for coins minted under 
this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury may reduce the maximum amounts 
specified in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a).
    (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.

    The Secretary shall obtain gold and silver for minting coins under 
this Act pursuant to the authority of the Secretary under other 
provisions of law, including authority relating to the use of silver 
stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials 
Stockpiling Act, as applicable.

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 first flight of Orville and 
        Wilbur Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 
        1903.
            (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 ``2003''; 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 
        Board of Directors of the First Flight Foundation and the 
        Commission of Fine Arts; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory 
        Committee.

SEC. 5. PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the 
Secretary may issue coins minted under this Act only during the period 
beginning on August 1, 2003, and ending on July 31, 2004.
    (b) Exception.--If the Secretary determines that there is 
sufficient public demand for the coins minted under section 2(a)(3), 
the Secretary may extend the period of issuance under subsection (a) 
for a period of 5 years with respect to those coins.

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--
            (1) $35 per coin for the $10 coin;
            (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and
            (3) $1 per coin for the half dollar coin.
    (e) Marketing Expenses.--The Secretary shall ensure that--
            (1) a plan is established for marketing the coins minted 
        under this Act; and
            (2) adequate funds are made available to cover the costs of 
        carrying out that marketing plan.

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 First Flight Foundation for the purposes of--
            (1) repairing, refurbishing, and maintaining the Wright 
        Brothers Monument on the Outer Banks of North Carolina; and
            (2) expanding (or, if necessary, replacing) and maintaining 
        the visitor center and other facilities at the Wright Brothers 
        National Memorial Park on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, 
        including providing educational programs and exhibits for 
        visitors.
    (b) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of the First Flight Foundation as may be related to the 
expenditures of amounts paid under subsection (a).

SEC. 9. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.

    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.

SEC. 10. WAIVER OF COIN PROGRAM RESTRICTIONS.

    The provisions of section 5112(m) of title 31, United States Code, 
do not apply to the coins minted and issued under this Act.
                                 <all>