[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 377 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 377

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
  of the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2003

 Ms. Landrieu (for herself, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Johnson, Mr. 
 Nelson of Florida, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Reid, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Durbin, 
Mr. Chafee, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Lieberman, Ms. Stabenow, and Mr. Miller) 
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 contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to 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 ``Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
Commemorative Coin Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his life to 
        securing the Nation's fundamental principles of liberty and 
        justice for all its citizens;
            (2) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leading civil 
        rights advocate of his time, spearheading the civil rights 
        movement in the United States during the 1950's and 1960's;
            (3) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the keynote speaker at 
        the August 28, 1963, March on Washington, the largest rally of 
        the civil rights movement, during which, from the steps of the 
        Lincoln Memorial and before a crowd of more than 200,000 
        people, he delivered his famous ``I Have A Dream'' speech, one 
        of the classic orations in American history;
            (4) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a champion of 
        nonviolence, fervently advocated nonviolent resistance as the 
        strategy to end segregation and racial discrimination in 
        America, and was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize in 
        recognition of his efforts;
            (5) all Americans should commemorate the legacy of Dr. 
        Martin Luther King, Jr. so ``that one day this Nation will rise 
        up and live out the true meaning of its creed: `We hold these 
        truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.'''; 
        and
            (6) efforts are underway to secure the personal papers of 
        Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for the Library of Congress so 
        that they may be preserved and studied for generations to come.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury (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 shall obtain silver for minting coins under this Act 
from all available sources, 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 human rights legacy and 
        leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
            (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 ``2003''; 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 
        Librarian of Congress, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the 
        estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; 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.--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 1-year period beginning on January 15, 
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 (c) 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) Surcharges.--All sales of coins issued under this Act shall 
include a surcharge of $10 per coin.

SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

    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 promptly paid by the Secretary to the Library 
of Congress for the purposes of purchasing and maintaining historical 
documents and other materials associated with the life and legacy of 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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