[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 863 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 863

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

                             April 20, 2005

  Mr. Conrad (for himself, Mr. Allen, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Baucus, Mr. 
 Bingaman, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Craig, Mr. Dodd, 
 Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. 
 Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Levin, Mr. McCain, Mr. Nelson 
  of Florida, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. 
   Salazar, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Stevens, and Mr. Warner) 
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.

    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) President William Harrison appointed Theodore Roosevelt 
        as the United States Civil Service Commissioner in 1889, a post 
        he held until 1895, serving 2 successive Presidents;
            (4) from 1895 to 1897, Theodore Roosevelt served as 
        Commissioner of the New York City Police Department;
            (5) while serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under 
        President William McKinley in 1897 and 1898, Theodore Roosevelt 
        organized the First United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, 
        popularly known as the ``Rough Riders'', and served as Colonel 
        of this regiment during the Spanish-American War;
            (6) from 1898 to 1900, Theodore Roosevelt served as 
        Governor of New York;
            (7) in 1900, upon the reelection of President McKinley, 
        Theodore Roosevelt was elected as the 25th Vice-President of 
        the United States;
            (8) as the 26th President of the United States beginning in 
        1901, Theodore Roosevelt took a very active role in foreign 
        affairs, establishing the United States as a new world power, 
        and instituting broad reforms at home, particularly with 
        respect to labor, monopolies, and conservation, until the end 
        of his presidency in 1909;
            (9) 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, totaling nearly 
        230,000,000 acres of land placed under public protection during 
        his presidency;
            (10) 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
            (11) 2006 marks the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt 
        being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first citizen of the 
        United States to receive such prize, for negotiating the 1905 
        peace treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in 
this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the following 
coins:
            (1) $1 silver coins with rough rider design.--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.--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 sections 5134 and 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 espoused by President Roosevelt; 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.--Each coin minted under 
        this Act shall bear--
                    (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 Coinage 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.--The coins minted 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 under section 7(a); and
            (3) the cost of designing and issuing such 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 
minted under this Act at a reasonable discount.
    (c) 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.
    (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 of Surcharges.--Subject to section 5134(f) of 
title 31, United States Code, and in accordance with subsection (c) of 
this section, all surcharges 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--
                    (A) for educational programs at Sagamore Hill 
                National Historic Site, including construction and 
                maintenance of a visitor's center; and
                    (B) to the extent that funds remain available, in 
                the discretion of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, 
                for the support of other curatorial activities that 
                preserve and enhance collections maintained by 
                institutions of higher learning dedicated to the study 
                and memory of Theodore Roosevelt; and
            (2) the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, to be used 
        exclusively--
                    (A) 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; and
                    (B) to the extent that funds remain available, in 
                the discretion of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora 
                Foundation, for the support of other curatorial 
                activities that preserve and enhance collections 
                maintained by institutions of higher learning dedicated 
                to the study and memory of Theodore Roosevelt.
    (c) Distribution of Amounts.--With respect to surcharges received 
under this section--
            (1) 70 percent of any such surcharges received shall be 
        paid to the Theodore Roosevelt Association; and
            (2) 30 percent any such surcharges received 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 
under section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code.
                                 <all>