[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1187 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1187

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
 of the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 7, 1999

  Mr. Dorgan 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 bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 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 ``Lewis and Clark Expedition 
Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the expedition commanded by Meriwether Lewis and 
        William Clark, which came to be called ``The Corps of 
        Discovery'', was one of the most remarkable and productive 
        scientific and military exploring expeditions in all American 
        history;
            (2) President Thomas Jefferson gave Lewis and Clark the 
        mission to ``explore the Missouri River & such principal stream 
        of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of 
        the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado, or 
        any other river may offer the most direct and practical water 
        communication across this continent for the purposes of 
        commerce'';
            (3) the Expedition, in response to President Jefferson's 
        directive, greatly advanced our geographical knowledge of the 
        continent and prepared the way for the extension of the 
        American fur trade with American Indian tribes throughout the 
        land;
            (4) President Jefferson directed the explorers to take note 
        of and carefully record the natural resources of the newly 
        acquired territory known as Louisiana, as well as diligently 
        report on the native inhabitants of the land;
            (5) the Expedition departed St. Louis, Missouri on May 14, 
        1804;
            (6) the Expedition held its first meeting with American 
        Indians at Council Bluff near present-day Fort Calhoun, 
        Nebraska, in August 1804, spent its first winter at Fort 
        Mandan, North Dakota, crossed the Rocky Mountains by the mouth 
        of the Columbia River in mid-November of that year, and 
        wintered at Fort Clatsop, near the present-day city of Astoria, 
        Oregon;
            (7) the Expedition returned to St. Louis, Missouri, on 
        September 23, 1806, after a 28-month journey covering 8,000 
        miles during which it traversed 11 future States: Illinois, 
        Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, 
        Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon;
            (8) accounts from the journals of Lewis and Clark and the 
        detailed maps that were prepared by the Expedition enhance 
        knowledge of the western continent and routes for commerce;
            (9) the Expedition significantly enhanced amicable 
        relationships between the United States and the autonomous 
        American Indian nations, and the friendship and respect 
        fostered between American Indian tribes and the Expedition 
        represents the best of diplomacy and relationships between 
divergent nations and cultures; and
            (10) the Lewis and Clark Expedition has been called the 
        most perfect expedition of its kind in the history of the world 
        and paved the way for the United States to become a great world 
        power.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denomination.--In commemoration of the bicentennial of the 
Lewis and Clark expedition, 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 the expedition of Lewis and Clark.
            (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 ``2004'' and the 
                years ``1804-1806''; 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 Meriwether Lewis and 
        William Clark.
            (4) General design.--In designing the coin minted under 
        this Act, the Secretary shall also consider incorporating 
        appropriate elements from the Jefferson Peace and Friendship 
        Medal, which Lewis and Clark presented to the Chiefs of the 
        various Indian tribes they encountered and shall consider 
        recognizing Native American culture.
    (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 1 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, 2004, and 
ending on December 31, 2004.

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, 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 as follows:
            (1) National lewis and clark bicentennial council.--\2/3\ 
        to the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council, for 
        activities associated with commemorating the bicentennial of 
        the Expedition.
            (2) National park service.--\1/3\ to the National Park 
        Service for activities associated with commemorating the 
        bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
    (b) 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. 9. 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 Act will not result in any net cost to the United States 
Government.
    (b) Payment for Coins.--A coin shall not be issued under this Act 
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.
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