[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3477 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3477

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
         of the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 7, 2003

 Mr. Calvert introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
         of the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

    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 ``Congressional Medal of Honor 
Memorial Coin Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest award 
        for valor that can be bestowed upon a member of the Armed 
        Forces of the United States.
            (2) The recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor have 
        conspicuously distinguished themselves by gallantry and 
        intrepidity at the risk of their lives above and beyond the 
        call of duty.
            (3) The National Medal of Honor Memorial at Riverside 
        National Cemetery is a fitting monument to the heroes who have 
        received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
            (4) The National Medal of Honor Memorial at Riverside 
        National Cemetery honors the service and sacrifice of each of 
        the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
            (5) The $1,700,000 required to build the National Medal of 
        Honor Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery was raised solely 
        through donations to the Riverside National Cemetery 
        Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial Committee.
            (6) Substantial support exists among the people of the 
        United States for the minting and issuance of coins in 
        commemoration of the recipients of the Congressional Medal of 
        Honor.
            (7) The people of the United States will be able to keep 
        and hold the coins minted under this Act as a personal memorial 
        to the many heroes who have received the Congressional Medal of 
        Honor.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--In commemoration of the recipients of the 
Congressional Medal of Honor, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following:
            (1) $5 Gold Coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, each of 
        which shall--
                    (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
            (2) $1 Silver Coins.--Not more than 250,000 $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.
    (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. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) In General.--The design of the coins minted under this Act 
shall be emblematic of the values and abilities necessary to earn the 
Congressional Medal of Honor, such as gallantry and intrepidity.
    (b) Designation and Inscriptions.--On each coin minted under this 
Act there shall be--
            (1) a designation of the value of the coin;
            (2) an inscription of the year ``2005''; and
            (3) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We 
        Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E Pluribus Unum''.
    (c) 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 Coinage Advisory Committee.

SEC. 5. 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, 2005, and 
ending on December 31, 2005.

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 surcharges required by section 7(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.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders 
received before the issuance of the coins minted under this Act. The 
sale prices with respect to such prepaid orders shall be at a 
reasonable discount.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

    (a) Assessment.--Any sale by the Secretary of a coin minted under 
this Act shall include a surcharge as follows:
            (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin.
            (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
    (b) Distribution.--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 Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee, a 
nonprofit organization established under the laws of the State of 
California, for the purposes of--
            (1) maintaining the National Medal of Honor Memorial at 
        Riverside National Cemetery; and
            (2) constructing and maintaining such memorials as the 
        Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee and the Secretary 
        of Veterans Affairs may jointly designate.
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