[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2395 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2395

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
of the centenary of the bestowal of the Nobel Peace Prize on President 
              Theodore Roosevelt, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 10, 2004

  Mr. Conrad 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 centenary of the bestowal of the Nobel Peace Prize on President 
              Theodore Roosevelt, 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 ``Theodore Roosevelt Commemorative 
Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) Theodore Roosevelt, one of America's greatest 
        presidents, was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City, New 
        York;
            (2) at the young age of 23, Theodore Roosevelt was elected 
        to the first of 3 terms as a representative in the New York 
        State Assembly (1882-1884);
            (3) from 1895 to 1897, Theodore Roosevelt served as 
        Commissioner of the New York City Police Department;
            (4) while serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under 
        President William McKinley (1897-1898), Theodore Roosevelt 
        organized the First United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, 
        popularly known as the ``Rough Riders'', and then served as 
        Colonel of this regiment during the Spanish-American War;
            (5) from 1898 to 1900, Theodore Roosevelt served as 
        Governor of New York;
            (6) in 1900, with the election of President McKinley, 
        Theodore Roosevelt was elected as the 25th Vice-President of 
        the United States;
            (7) becoming the 26th President of the United States the 
        following year, Theodore Roosevelt took a very active role in 
        foreign affairs, establishing the United States as a new world 
        power, and instituted broad reforms, at home, particularly with 
        respect to labor, monopolies, and conservation, until the end 
        of his presidency in 1909;
            (8) Theodore Roosevelt's commitment to conservation stemmed 
        from his experiences as a rancher in the badlands of North 
        Dakota from 1883 to 1886 and earned him the title of the 
        ``Conservationist President'' for his efforts in establishing 
        51 Bird Reserves, 4 Game Preserves, 150 National Forests, 5 
        National Parks, and 18 National Monuments, totalling nearly 230 
        million acres of land placed under public protection during his 
        presidency;
            (9) on January 16, 2001, Theodore Roosevelt was 
        posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for 
        leading a charge up the San Juan Heights in Cuba during the 
        Spanish-American War, shortly before the war ended, thereby 
        becoming the first President of the United States to be awarded 
        the Congressional Medal of Honor; and
            (10) 2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of Theodore 
        Roosevelt receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, the first citizen of 
        the United States to receive such prize, for drawing up the 
        1905 peace treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following coins:
            (1) $1 silver coins with rough rider design on obverse.--
        Not more than 500,000 $1 coins bearing the designs specified in 
        section 4(a)(2), 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.
            (2) $1 silver coins with adventurer design on obverse.--Not 
        more than 500,000 $1 coins bearing the designs specified in 
        section 4(a)(3), 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.
    (d) Use of the United States Mint at West Point, New York.--It is 
the sense of Congress that the coins minted under this Act should be 
struck at the United States Mint at West Point, New York, to the 
greatest extent possible.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall--
                    (A) be emblematic of the life and legacy of 
                President Theodore Roosevelt; and
                    (B) use the designs of James Earle Fraser or 
                Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 2 sculptors most closely 
                associated with the revitalization of the United States 
                coinage, commonly referred to as the ``Golden Age of 
                American Coin Design'', that was initiated by President 
                Theodore Roosevelt.
            (2) $1 coins with rough rider design.--
                    (A) Obverse.--The obverse of the coins minted under 
                section 3(a)(1) shall bear the image of Theodore 
                Roosevelt as a Rough Rider that was used on the James 
                Earle Fraser medal of 1920.
                    (B) Reverse.--The reverse of the coins minted under 
                section 3(a)(1) shall bear the eagle design, with 
                motto, from the $20 gold ``double eagle'' coin produced 
                between 1907 and 1933 and designed by Augustus Saint-
                Gaudens.
            (3) $1 coins with adventurer design.--
                    (A) Obverse.--The obverse of the coins minted under 
                section 3(a)(2) shall bear the image of Theodore 
                Roosevelt on horseback, based on James Earle Fraser's 
                monumental 16-foot high bronze equestrian figure of 
                Roosevelt that--
                            (i) stands at the east front of the 
                        American Museum of Natural History in New York 
                        City; and
                            (ii) recognizes Roosevelt's lifelong 
                        activity as a naturalist and conservationist 
                        and emphasizes him as an adventurer, 
                        outdoorsman, and hunter.
                    (B) Reverse.--The reverse of the coins minted under 
                section 3(a)(2) shall bear the design based on the 
                reverse designs by James Earle Fraser used on the 
                Roosevelt Memorial Association Medal of Honor and the 
                Association's Founders Medal that--
                            (i) depict the crusader's flaming sword of 
                        righteousness and evoke the ``Big Stick'' 
                        philosophy that President Roosevelt espoused; 
                        and
                            (ii) to the left and right of the flaming 
                        sword in 4 lines bear the quotation ``If I Must 
                        Choose Between Righteousness and Peace, I 
                        Choose Righteousness.'' from Roosevelt's 
                        historical work, ``Unwise Peace Treaties''.
            (4) 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 
        Commission of Fine Arts; and
            (2) reviewed by the citizens advisory committee established 
        under section 5135 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued 
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
    (b) Commencement of Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act beginning January 1, 2006, except that the Secretary may 
initiate sales of such coins, without issuance, before such date.
    (c) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins shall be minted 
under this Act after December 31, 2006.

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
coins minted under this Act shall be sold by the Secretary at a price 
equal to the face value, plus the cost of designing and issuing such 
coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead 
expenses, and marketing).
    (b) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins 
minted under this Act at a reasonable discount.
    (c) Prepaid Orders at a Discount.--
            (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) Sales of Single Coins and Sets of Coins.--Coins of each design 
specified under section 4 may be sold separately or as a set containing 
a coin of each such design.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

    (a) Surcharge Required.--All sales of coins minted under this Act 
shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin.
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 
States Code, and subsection (c) of this section, all surcharges which 
are received by the Secretary from the sale of coins minted under this 
Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to--
            (1) the Theodore Roosevelt Association, to be used 
        exclusively for--
                    (A) educational programs at Sagamore Hill National 
                Historic Site, operated by the National Park Service, 
                including construction and maintenance of a visitor's 
                center; and
                    (B) setting up a curatorial chair and purchase fund 
                for the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at the Harvard 
                University Library; and
            (2) the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, to be used 
        exclusively for educational programs at and around the Theodore 
        Roosevelt National Park, including construction of the Theodore 
        Roosevelt Badlands Institute in the badlands of North Dakota.
    (c) Distribution of Amounts.--With respect to surcharges received 
under this section--
            (1) the first $2,250,000 of any such surcharges received 
        shall be paid to the Theodore Roosevelt Association; and
            (2) of amounts of any such surcharges received in excess of 
        $2,250,000--
                    (A) three-fifths shall be paid to the Theodore 
                Roosevelt Association; and
                    (B) two-fifths shall be paid to the Theodore 
                Roosevelt Medora Foundation.
    (d) Audits.--The Theodore Roosevelt Association and the Theodore 
Roosevelt Medora Foundation shall be subject to the audit requirements 
of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, for purposes of 
this Act.
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