[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1379 Introduced in Senate (IS)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1379

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
  of veterans who became disabled for life while serving in the Armed 
                      Forces of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 9, 2003

  Mr. Johnson 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 veterans who became disabled for life while serving in the Armed 
                      Forces of the United States.

    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 ``American Veterans Disabled for Life 
Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the armed forces of the United States have answered the 
        call and served with distinction around the world--from hitting 
        the beaches in World War II in the Pacific and Europe, to the 
        cold and difficult terrain in Korea, the steamy jungles of 
        Vietnam, and the desert sands of the Middle East;
            (2) all Americans should commemorate those who come home 
        having survived the ordeal of war, and solemnly honor those who 
        made the ultimate sacrifice in giving their lives for their 
        country;
            (3) all Americans should honor the millions of living 
        disabled veterans who carry the scars of war every day, and who 
        have made enormous personal sacrifices defending the principles 
        of our democracy;
            (4) in 2000, Congress authorized the construction of the 
        American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial;
            (5) the United States should pay tribute to the Nation's 
        living disabled veterans by minting and issuing a commemorative 
        silver dollar coin; and
            (6) the surcharge proceeds from the sale of a commemorative 
        coin would raise valuable funding for the construction of the 
        American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--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 in commemoration of disabled American 
veterans, 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 5134 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 shall obtain silver for minting coins under this Act 
only from 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 design selected by the Disabled 
        Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans 
        Disabled for Life Memorial.
            (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 ``2006''; 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 Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation and the Commission 
        of Fine Arts; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage 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 under this 
Act only during the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2006.

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) Surcharges.--All sales of coins issued under this Act shall 
include a surcharge of $10 per coin.
    (c) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins 
issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
    (d) 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. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

    (a) In General.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 
States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of 
coins issued under this Act shall be paid to the Disabled Veterans' 
LIFE Memorial Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment 
to support the construction of American Veterans' Disabled for Life 
Memorial in Washington, D.C.
    (b) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation as may be 
related to the expenditures of amounts paid 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 whose deposits are 
        insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the 
        National Credit Union Administration Board.
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