[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2097 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2097

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
           of the U.S.S. New Jersey, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 9, 1999

Mr. Frelinghuysen (for himself, Mr. Franks of New Jersey, Mr. Menendez, 
 Mr. Pascrell, Mrs. Roukema, Mr. Holt, Mr. Payne, Mr. Rothman, and Mr. 
Smith or New Jersey) 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 U.S.S. New Jersey, 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 ``U.S.S. New Jersey Commemorative Coin 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The U.S.S. New Jersey was launched December 7, 1942, 
        the start of nearly 50 years of dedicated service to our Nation 
        prior to final decommissioning in 1991.
            (2) After commissioning, the U.S.S. New Jersey was sent to 
        the Pacific, and played a key role in operations in the 
        Marshalls, Marianas, Carolines, Philippines, Iwo Jima, and 
        Okinawa, with a particular highlight being the U.S.S. New 
        Jersey's service as the flagship for Commander 3d Fleet, 
        Admiral William ``Bull'' Halsey, during the Battle of Leyte 
        Gulf in October 1944.
            (3) After the Allied victory in World War II, the U.S.S. 
        New Jersey was deactivated in 1948 until being called to 
        service for the second time, in November 1950.
            (4) The U.S.S. New Jersey served two tours in the Western 
        Pacific during the Korean War, serving as flagship for 
        Commander 7th Fleet.
            (5) After her valiant service during the Korean War, the 
        U.S.S. New Jersey was again mothballed in 1957, only to be re-
        activated again in 1968 to serve as the only active-duty Navy 
        battleship.
            (6) The U.S.S. New Jersey served a successful tour during 
        the Vietnam conflict, providing critical major-caliber fire 
        support for friendly troops, before again being decommissioned 
        in December 1969.
            (7) The U.S.S. New Jersey's service to our country did not 
        end with the Vietnam conflict, as she was again called to 
        active duty status in December 1982 and provided a show of 
        strength off the coast of Nicaragua, in Central America in 
        1983.
            (8) The Navy again called upon the U.S.S. New Jersey to 
        provide critical support by sending her to the Mediterranean in 
        1983 to provide critical fire support to Marines in embattled 
        Beirut, Lebanon.
            (9) The U.S.S. New Jersey continued to serve the Navy in a 
        variety of roles, including regular deployments in the Western 
        Pacific.
            (10) The U.S.S. New Jersey was decommissioned for the 
        fourth and final time in February 1991.
            (11) In 1998 Congress passed legislation to decommission 
        the U.S.S. New Jersey and permanently berth her in the State of 
        New Jersey.
            (12) The State has strongly endorsed bringing the U.S.S. 
        New Jersey home, and has issued commemorative license plates 
        and taken other steps to raise funds for the costs of 
relocating the U.S.S. New Jersey.
            (13) The New Jersey congressional delegation is united in 
        its support for bringing the U.S.S. New Jersey home to New 
        Jersey.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denomination.--In commemoration of the U.S.S. New Jersey, the 
Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins, 
each of 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 5136 of title 31, 
United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered 
to be numismatic items.

SEC. 4. SOURCES OF BULLION.

    The Secretary may obtain silver for minting coins under this Act 
from any available source, including stockpiles established under the 
Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act.

SEC. 5. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of service of the U.S.S. New Jersey.
            (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 ``2002''; 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 Act shall bear the likeness of the U.S.S. New Jersey.
            (4) General design.--In designing this coin, the Secretary 
        shall also consider incorporating appropriate elements from the 
        tenure of service of the U.S.S. New Jersey in the Navy.
    (b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be selected by the Secretary after consultation with the 
Commission of Fine Arts and shall be reviewed by the Citizens 
Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee.

SEC. 6. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued 
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
    (b) Mint Facility.--Only one facility of the United States Mint may 
be used to strike any particular 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, 2002, and 
ending on December 31, 2002.

SEC. 7. 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 of coins minted under this Act shall 
include a surcharge of $10 per coin.

SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

    (a) In General.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 
States Code, 10 percent of the proceeds from the surcharges received by 
the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be 
promptly paid by the Secretary to the U.S.S. New Jersey Battleship 
Foundation in Middletown, New Jersey, for activities associated with 
the costs of moving the U.S.S. New Jersey and permanently berthing her 
in her new location.
    (b) Audits.--The U.S.S. New Jersey Battleship Foundation shall be 
subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, 
United States Code.
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