[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2217 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2217

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
   of the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian 
                  Institution, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2000

  Mr. Campbell (for himself, Mr. Inouye and Mr. Lott) 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 National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian 
                  Institution, 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 ``National Museum of the American 
Indian Commemorative Coin Act of 2000'', or the ``American Buffalo Coin 
Commemorative Coin Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Smithsonian Institution was established in 1846, 
        with funds bequeathed to the United States by James Smithson 
        for the ``increase and diffusion of knowledge'';/
            (2) once established, the Smithsonian Institution became an 
        important part of the process of developing the United States 
        national identity, an ongoing role which continues today;
            (3) the Smithsonian Institution, which is now the world's 
        largest museum complex, including 16 museums, 4 research 
        centers, and the National Zoo, is visited by millions of 
        Americans and people from all over the world each year;
            (4) the National Museum of the American Indian of the 
        Smithsonian Institution (referred to in this section as the 
        ``NMAI'') was established by an Act of Congress in 1989, in 
        Public Law 101-185;
            (5) the purpose of the NMAI, as established by Congress, is 
        to--
                    (A) advance the study of Native Americans, 
                including the study of language, literature, history, 
                art, anthropology, and life;
                    (B) collect, preserve, and exhibit Native American 
                objects of artistic, historical, literary, 
                anthropological, and scientific interest; and
                    (C) provide for Native American research and study 
                programs;
            (6) the NMAI works in cooperation with Native Americans and 
        oversees a collection that spans more than 10,000 years of 
        American history;
            (7) it is fitting that the NMAI will be located in a place 
        of honor near the United States Capitol, and on the National 
        Mall;
            (8) thousands of Americans, including many American 
        Indians, came from all over the Nation to witness the 
        groundbreaking ceremony for the NMAI on September 28, 1999;
            (9) the NMAI is scheduled to open in the summer of 2002;
            (10) the original 5-cent buffalo nickel, as designed by 
        James Earle Fraser and minted from 1913 through 1938, which 
        portrays a profile representation of a Native American on the 
        obverse side and a representation of an American buffalo on the 
        reverse side, is a distinctive and appropriate model for a coin 
        to commemorate the NMAI; and
            (11) the surcharge proceeds from the sale of a 
        commemorative coin, which would have no net cost to the 
        taxpayers, would raise valuable funding for the opening of the 
        NMAI and help to supplement the endowment and educational 
        outreach funds of the NMAI.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--In commemoration of the opening of the Museum 
of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institution, 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.

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 $1 coins minted under 
        this Act shall be based on the original 5-cent buffalo nickel 
designed by James Earle Fraser and minted from 1913 through 1938. Each 
coin shall have on the obverse side a profile representation of a 
Native American, and on the reverse side, a representation of an 
American buffalo (also known as a bison).
            (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 ``2001''; 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 
        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.--
            (1) In general.--Only 1 facility of the United States Mint 
        may be used to strike any particular quality of the coins 
        minted under this Act.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
        that the United States Mint facility in Denver, Colorado should 
        strike the coins authorized by this Act, unless the Secretary 
        determines that such action would be technically or cost-
        prohibitive.
    (c) Commencement of Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act beginning on January 1, 2001.
    (d) Termination of Minting.--No coins may be minted under this Act 
after December 31, 2001.

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 required by 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 paid promptly by 
the Secretary to the National Museum of the American Indian of the 
Smithsonian Institution for the purposes of--
            (1) commemorating the opening of the National Museum of the 
        American Indian; and
            (2) supplementing the endowment and educational outreach 
        funds of the Museum of the American Indian.
    (b) Audits.--The National Museum of the American Indian shall be 
subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, 
United States Code, with regard to the amounts received by the museum 
under subsection (a).

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, the deposits of which 
        are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the 
        National Credit Union Administration Board.
                                 <all>