[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5397 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5397

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
  of veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States and to use the 
 proceeds of surcharges imposed on the sale of such coins to fund the 
 transportation of veterans to and from hospitals administered by the 
                     Secretary of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 5, 2000

 Mr. Inslee (for himself, Mr. LaFalce, Mr. Evans, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. 
Ackerman, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Baird, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Barrett of Nebraska, 
  Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Becerra, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Berry, Mr. 
   Bilbray, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Bonior, Mrs. Bono, Mr. 
 Borski, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Brown of 
      Ohio, Mr. Cannon, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Capuano, Ms. Carson, Mrs. 
   Christensen, Mrs. Clayton, Mr. Condit, Mr. Coyne, Mr. Cramer, Ms. 
Danner, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Dingell, Mr. 
  Dixon, Mr. Etheridge, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Farr of California, Mr. 
    Filner, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Frost, Mr. 
Gejdenson, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Gillmor, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. 
   Gordon, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. 
Hastings of Florida, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Holden, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, 
  Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Jenkins, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Jones of North 
  Carolina, Ms. Kaptur, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. 
Kildee, Mr. Kind, Mr. Klink, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Larson, Mr. LaTourette, 
Ms. Lee, Mr. Levin, Ms. Lofgren, Mrs. Lowey, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, 
 Ms. McCarthy of Missouri, Mr. McDermott, Mr. McGovern, Mr. McIntyre, 
Ms. McKinney, Mr. McNulty, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Martinez, Mr. 
Mascara, Mr. Matsui, Mr. Meehan, Mrs. Meek of Florida, Mr. Meeks of New 
York, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Metcalf, Mr. Mica, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. 
  George Miller of California, Mr. Moore, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. 
   Murtha, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. Ney, Ms. 
Norton, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Obey, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Owens, Mr. Packard, Mr. 
     Pallone, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Payne, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Peterson of 
 Minnesota, Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Phelps, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. 
    Price of North Carolina, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Reyes, Mr. 
   Rodriguez, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Romero-Barcelo, Mrs. Roukema, Ms. 
Roybal-Allard, Mr. Rush, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Sandlin, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. 
 Scott, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Shays, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Shows, Ms. Slaughter, 
   Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Snyder, Mr. 
   Spratt, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Stark, Mr. Stearns, Mr. Strickland, Mr. 
  Stupak, Mr. Sweeney, Mrs. Tauscher, Mr. Taylor of Mississippi, Mr. 
Thompson of California, Mr. Thune, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Towns, Mr. Udall of 
Colorado, Mr. Walden of Oregon, Mr. Wamp, Ms. Waters, Mr. Weygand, Mr. 
Wise, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Wu, and Mr. Wynn) 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 veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States and to use the 
 proceeds of surcharges imposed on the sale of such coins to fund the 
 transportation of veterans to and from hospitals administered by the 
                     Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

    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 ``Veterans Commemoration Act of 
2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The United States is indebted to those who served this 
        nation in times of war.
            (2) The United States must meet its obligations to 
        veterans.
            (3) The Congress has the responsibility to fulfill those 
        obligations to veterans.
            (4) The Congress recognizes the unique service that the 
        Disabled American Veterans' transportation program provides to 
        veterans.
            (5) The Congress would like to offer the opportunity for 
        all persons to voluntarily participate in raising funds for the 
        transportation of veterans to and from veterans' hospitals.
            (6) The Congress understands the importance of Executive 
        Order Numbered 5398, signed by President Herbert Hoover on July 
        21, 1930, which created the Veterans Administration at a time 
        when there were 54 hospitals, 4,700,000 living veterans, and 
        31,600 employees.
            (7) It is appropriate to authorize coins commemorating the 
        service of veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States 
        and provide for the use of the proceeds of surcharges imposed 
        on the sale of the coins to fund the transportation of veterans 
        to and from hospitals administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--
            (1) Designations.--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 to commemorate veterans of 
        the United States Armed Services.
            (2) Size, weight, and composition.--Each coin issued under 
        paragraph (1) 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) 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 each coin minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the service of veterans of the Armed 
        Forces of the United States.
            (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 ``2005''; 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 
        Disabled American Veterans and the Commission of Fine Arts; and
            (2) 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 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, 2005.
    (d) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins may be minted under 
this Act after December 31, 2005.

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 section 8(a) 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.

 SEC. 8. SURCHARGES.

    (a) In General.--All sales of coins minted under this Act shall 
include a surcharge of $10.
    (b) Distribution.--All surcharges received by the Secretary from 
the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the 
Secretary, in accordance with section 5134(f)(1) of title 31, United 
States Code, to the Disabled American Veterans for the purpose of 
funding the transportation of veterans to and from hospitals 
administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
    (c) Audits.--The Disabled American Veterans shall be subject to the 
audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States 
Code.
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