[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2040 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2040

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
of the semicentennial of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2007

Mr. Lewis of Georgia (for himself and Ms. Pryce of Ohio) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
of the semicentennial of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    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 ``Civil Rights Act of 1964 
Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress hereby finds as follows:
            (1) On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks' brave act of defiance, 
        refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated 
        bus in Montgomery, Alabama, galvanized the modern civil rights 
        movement and led to the desegregation of the South.
            (2) On February 1, 1960, 4 college students, Joseph McNeil, 
        Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Ezell Blair, Jr., asked to 
        be served at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and 
        lunch counter sit-ins began to occur throughout the South to 
        challenge segregation in places of public accommodation.
            (3) On May 4, 1961, the Freedom Rides into the South began 
        to test new court orders barring segregation in interstate 
        transportation, and riders were jailed and beaten by mobs in 
        several places, including Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama.
            (4) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the leading civil 
        rights advocate of the time, spearheading the civil rights 
        movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s with 
        the goal of nonviolent social change and full civil rights for 
        African Americans.
            (5) On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led 
        over 250,000 civil rights supporters in the March on Washington 
        and delivered his famous ``I Have A Dream'' speech to raise 
        awareness and support for civil rights legislation.
            (6) Mrs. Coretta Scott King, a leading participant in the 
        American civil rights movement, was side-by-side with her 
        husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during many civil rights 
        marches, organized Freedom Concerts to draw attention to the 
        Movement, and worked in her own right to create an America in 
        which all people have equal rights.
            (7) The mass movement sparked by Rosa Parks and led by Dr. 
        Martin Luther King, Jr., among others, called upon the Congress 
        and Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to pass 
        civil rights legislation which culminated in the enactment of 
        the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
            (8) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 greatly expanded civil 
        rights protections, outlawing racial discrimination and 
        segregation in public places and places of public 
        accommodation, in federally funded programs, and employment and 
        encouraging desegregation in public schools, and has served as 
        a model for subsequent anti-discrimination laws.
            (9) We are an eminently better Nation because of Rosa 
        Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and all those men and women 
        who have confronted, and continue to confront, injustice and 
        inequality wherever they see it.
            (10) Equality in education was one of the cornerstones of 
        the civil rights movement.
            (11) On September 10, 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
        wrote that African American ``students are coming to understand 
        that education and learning have become tools for shaping the 
        future and not devices of privilege for an exclusive few''.
            (12) Over its long and distinguished history, the United 
        Negro College Fund has provided scholarships and operating 
        funds to its member colleges that have enabled more than 
        300,000 young African Americans to earn college degrees and 
        become successful members of society.
            (13) Those graduates include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
        as well as leaders in the fields of education, science, 
        medicine, law, entertainment, literature, the military, and 
        politics who have made major contributions to the civil rights 
        movement and the creation of a more equitable society.
            (14) Congress has an obligation to lead America's continued 
        struggle to fight discrimination and ensure equal rights for 
        all.
            (15) The year 2014 will mark the semicentennial of the 
        passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not 
more than 350,000 $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.
    (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.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--The design of the coins minted under this 
Act shall be emblematic of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964 and its contribution to civil rights in America.
    (b) Designation and Inscriptions.--On each coin minted under this 
Act there shall be--
            (1) a designation of the value of the coin;
            (2) an inscription of the year ``2014''; and
            (3) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We 
        Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E Pluribus Unum''.
    (c) 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, 2014, 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, 2014.

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 sum of the face value of the coins, the surcharge required 
under section 7(a) for the coins, and 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.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

    (a) Surcharge Required.--All sales shall include a surcharge of $10 
per coin.
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 
States Code, all surcharges which are received by the Secretary from 
the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the 
Secretary to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to carry out the 
purposes of the Fund, including providing scholarships and internships 
for minority students and operating funds and technology enhancement 
services for 39 member historically black colleges and universities.
    (c) Audits.--The United Negro College Fund 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 Fund under subsection 
(b).
                                 <all>