[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1639 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1639

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
  of the founding of America's National Parks, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 8, 2005

  Mr. Stevens (for himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Grassley, Mr. 
  Thomas, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Cochran, and 
Mrs. Feinstein) 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 founding of America's National Parks, 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 Park Anniversaries-Great 
American Spaces Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The National Park Foundation is the congressionally-
        chartered nonprofit partner of America's National Parks.
            (2) The mission of the National Park Foundation is to 
        strengthen the enduring connection between the American people 
        and their National Parks by raising private funds, making 
        strategic grants, creating innovative partnerships, and 
        increasing public awareness of National Parks.
            (3) The parks represented in this program represent some of 
        the most beloved and treasured National Parks in America.
            (4) The National Park Service was established in 1916, to 
        preserve and protect great scenic parks such as Grand Canyon 
        National Park and Yosemite National Park, and to manage 
        battlefields such as Gettysburg National Military Park and 
        historical sites such as the Lincoln Memorial.
            (5) Theodore Roosevelt said that nothing short of defending 
        this country in wartime ``compares in importance with the great 
        task of leaving this land even a better land for our 
        descendants than it is for us''.
            (6) National Parks established under the presidency of 
        Theodore Roosevelt, such as Grand Canyon National Park and 
        Devils Tower National Monument, are the embodiment of that 
        ideal.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins for National Parks Observing Historic 
Anniversaries of Their Founding.--The Secretary of the Treasury (in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not 
more than 300,000 $1 coins for each of the National Parks specified in 
section 4(c), 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 sections 5134 and 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) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be developed in consultation with the National Park 
        Foundation, and shall be emblematic of the National Park being 
        commemorated on each coin.
            (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 in which the coin is 
                minted; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Design 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 the National Park Foundation; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee 
        established under section 5135 of title 31, United States Code.
    (c) National Parks To Be Commemorated.--The National Parks to be 
commemorated in accordance with this Act, the year of commemoration, 
and the anniversary to be observed are as follows:


 
                                   National Park or Park
         Year of Issuance                 Service           Anniversary
 
2007.............................  Devils Tower National           100th
                                    Monument.
2008.............................  Grand Canyon National           100th
                                    Park.
2010.............................  Glacier National Park           100th
2011.............................  Lincoln Memorial.....           100th
2015.............................  Yosemite National               125th
                                    Park.
2015.............................  Rocky Mountain                  100th
                                    National Park.
2016.............................  National Park Service           100th
2017.............................  Denali National Park.           100th
2018.............................  Acadia National Park.           100th
2019.............................  Zion National Park...           100th
2020.............................  Gettysburg National             125th
                                    Military Park.

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) Commencement of Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act beginning January 1 of the year of issuance, as 
specified in section 4(c), except that the Secretary may initiate sales 
of such coins, without issuance, before such date.
    (d) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins shall be minted 
under this Act after December 31 of the year of issuance specified in 
section 4(c).

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
coins issued 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 
issued 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(c) may be sold separately or as a set 
containing other coins authorized by this Act.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

    (a) Surcharge Required.--All sales of coins issued under this Act 
shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin.
    (b) Distribution.--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 National Park Foundation for use as follows:
            (1) 50 percent of the surcharges received shall be used by 
        the National Park Foundation in support of all National Parks.
            (2) 50 percent of the surcharges received shall be used by 
        the National Park Foundation for the benefit of the National 
        Parks designated in section 4(c) (in addition to any amount 
        allocable to any such Park from expenditures of amounts under 
        paragraph (1)).
    (c) Audits.--The National Park Foundation 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 Foundation under 
subsection (b).

SEC. 8. 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.
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