[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6184 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6184

To provide for a program for circulating quarter dollar coins that are 
emblematic of a national park or other national site in each State, the 
District of Columbia, and each territory of the United States, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2008

 Mr. Castle (for himself, Mrs. Maloney of New York, and Mr. Gutierrez) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for a program for circulating quarter dollar coins that are 
emblematic of a national park or other national site in each State, the 
District of Columbia, and each territory of the United States, 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 ``America's Beautiful National Parks 
Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008''.

                 TITLE I--NATIONAL SITE QUARTER DOLLARS

SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Yellowstone National Park was established by an Act 
        signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, as the 
        Nation's first national park.
            (2) The summer and autumn of 1890 saw the establishment of 
        a number of national sites:
                    (A) August 19: Chickamauga and Chattanooga 
                established as national military parks in Georgia and 
                Tennessee.
                    (B) August 30: Antietam established as a national 
                battlefield site in Maryland.
                    (C) September 25: Sequoia National Park established 
                in California.
                    (D) September 27: Rock Creek Park established in 
                the District of Columbia.
                    (E) October 1: General Grant National Park 
                established in California (and subsequently 
                incorporated in Kings Canyon National Park).
                    (F) October 1: Yosemite National Park established 
                in California.
            (3) Theodore Roosevelt was this nation's 26th President and 
        is considered by many to be our ``Conservationist President''.
            (4) As a frequent visitor to the West, Theodore Roosevelt 
        witnessed the virtual destruction of some big game species and 
        the overgrazing that destroyed the grasslands and with them the 
        habitats for small mammals and songbirds and conservation 
        increasingly became one of his major concerns.
            (5) When he became President in 1901, Roosevelt pursued 
        this interest in conservation by establishing the first 51 Bird 
        Reserves, 4 Game Preserves, and 150 National Forests.
            (6) He also established the United States Forest Service, 
        signed into law the creation of 5 National Parks, and signed 
        the Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities in 1906 
        under which he proclaimed 18 national monuments.
            (7) Approximately 230,000,000 acres of area within the 
        United States was placed under public protection by Theodore 
        Roosevelt.
            (8) Theodore Roosevelt said that nothing short of defending 
        this country in wartime ``compares in importance with the great 
        central task of leaving this land even a better land for our 
        descendants than it is for us''.
            (9) The National Park Service was created by an Act signed 
        by President Woodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916.
            (10) The National Park System comprises 391 areas covering 
        more than 84,000,000 acres in every State (except Delaware), 
        the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, 
        and the Virgin Islands.
            (11) The sites or areas within the National Park System 
        vary widely in size and type from vast natural wilderness to 
        birthplaces of Presidents to world heritage archaeology sites 
        to an African burial ground memorial in Manhattan and include 
        national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, 
        historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, 
        recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White 
        House.
            (12) In addition to the sites within the National Park 
        System, the United States has placed numerous other types of 
        sites under various forms of conservancy, such as the national 
        forests and sites within the National Wildlife Refuge System 
        and on the National Register of Historic Places.

SEC. 102. ISSUANCE OF REDESIGNED QUARTER DOLLARS EMBLEMATIC OF NATIONAL 
              PARKS OR OTHER NATIONAL SITES IN EACH STATE, THE DISTRICT 
              OF COLUMBIA, AND EACH TERRITORY.

    Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(t) Redesign and Issuance of Quarter Dollars Emblematic of 
National Sites in Each State, the District of Columbia, and Each 
Territory.--
            ``(1) Redesign beginning upon completion of prior 
        program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding the fourth 
                sentence of subsection (d)(1) and subsection (d)(2), 
                quarter dollars issued beginning in 2010 shall have 
                designs on the reverse selected in accordance with this 
                subsection which are emblematic of the national sites 
                in the States, the District of Columbia and the 
                territories of the United States.
                    ``(B) Flexibility with regard to placement of 
                inscriptions.--Notwithstanding subsection (d)(1), the 
                Secretary may select a design for quarter dollars 
                referred to in subparagraph (A) in which--
                            ``(i) the inscription described in the 
                        second sentence of subsection (d)(1) appears on 
                        the reverse side of any such quarter dollars; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) any inscription described in the 
                        third sentence of subsection (d)(1) or the 
                        designation of the value of the coin appears on 
                        the obverse side of any such quarter dollars.
                    ``(C) Inclusion of district of columbia, and 
                territories.--For purposes of this subsection, the term 
                `State' has the same meaning as in section 3(a)(3) of 
                the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
            ``(2) Single site in each state.--The design on the reverse 
        side of each quarter dollar issued during the period of 
        issuance under this subsection shall be emblematic of 1 
        national site in each State.
            ``(3) Selection of site and design.--
                    ``(A) Site.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The selection of a 
                        national park or other national site in each 
                        State to be honored with a coin under this 
                        subsection shall be made by the Secretary of 
                        the Treasury, after consultation with the 
                        Secretary of the Interior and the governor or 
                        other chief executive of each State with 
                        respect to which a coin is to be issued under 
                        this subsection, and after giving full and 
                        thoughtful consideration to national sites that 
                        are not under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 
                        of the Interior so that the national site 
                        chosen for each State shall be the most 
                        appropriate in terms of natural or historic 
                        significance.
                            ``(ii) Timing.--The selection process under 
                        clause (i) shall be completed before the end of 
                        the 270-day period beginning on the date of the 
                        enactment of the America's Beautiful National 
                        Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008.
                    ``(B) Design.--Each of the designs required under 
                this subsection for quarter dollars shall be--
                            ``(i) selected by the Secretary after 
                        consultation with--
                                    ``(I) the Secretary of the 
                                Interior; and
                                    ``(II) the Commission of Fine Arts; 
                                and
                            ``(ii) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage 
                        Advisory Committee.
                    ``(C) Selection and approval process.--
                Recommendations for site selections and designs for 
                quarter dollars may be submitted in accordance with the 
                site and design selection and approval process 
                developed by the Secretary in the sole discretion of 
                the Secretary.
                    ``(D) Participation in design.--The Secretary may 
                include participation by officials of the State, 
                artists from the State, engravers of the United States 
                Mint, and members of the general public.
                    ``(E) Standards.--Because it is important that the 
                Nation's coinage and currency bear dignified designs of 
                which the citizens of the United States can be proud, 
                the Secretary shall not select any frivolous or 
                inappropriate design for any quarter dollar minted 
                under this subsection.
                    ``(F) Prohibition on certain representations.--No 
                head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person, 
                living or dead, no portrait of a living person, and no 
                outline or map of a State may be included in the design 
                on the reverse of any quarter dollar under this 
                subsection.
            ``(4) Issuance of coins.--
                    ``(A) Order of issuance.--The quarter dollar coins 
                issued under this subsection bearing designs of 
                national sites shall be issued in the order in which 
                the sites selected under paragraph (3) were first 
                established as a national site.
                    ``(B) Rate of issuance.--The quarter dollar coins 
                bearing designs of national sites under this subsection 
                shall be issued at the rate of 5 new designs during 
                each year of the period of issuance under this 
                subsection.
                    ``(C) Number of each of 5 coin designs in each 
                year.--Of the quarter dollar coins issued during each 
                year of the period of issuance, the Secretary of the 
                Treasury shall prescribe, on the basis of such factors 
                as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the 
                number of quarter dollars which shall be issued with 
                each of the designs selected for such year.
            ``(5) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of 
        sections 5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection 
        shall be considered to be numismatic items.
            ``(6) Issuance.--
                    ``(A) Quality of coins.--The Secretary may mint and 
                issue such number of quarter dollars of each design 
                selected under paragraph (3) in uncirculated and proof 
                qualities as the Secretary determines to be 
                appropriate.
                    ``(B) Silver coins.--Notwithstanding subsection 
                (b), the Secretary may mint and issue such number of 
                quarter dollars of each design selected under paragraph 
                (3) as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, with 
                a content of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.
            ``(7) Period of issuance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
                program established under this subsection shall 
                continue in effect until a national site in each State 
                has been honored.
                    ``(B) Second round at discretion of secretary.--
                            ``(i) Determination.--The Secretary may 
                        make a determination before the end of the 9-
                        year period beginning when the first quarter 
                        dollar is issued under this subsection to 
                        continue the period of issuance until a second 
                        national site in each State, the District of 
                        Columbia, and each territory referred to in 
                        this subsection has been honored with a design 
                        on a quarter dollar.
                            ``(ii) Notice and report.--Within 30 days 
                        after making a determination under clause (i), 
                        the Secretary shall submit a written report on 
                        such determination to the Committee on 
                        Financial Services of the House of 
                        Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 
                        Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
                            ``(iii) Applicability of provisions.--If 
                        the Secretary makes a determination under 
                        clause (i), the provisions of this subsection 
                        applicable to site and design selection and 
                        approval, the order, timing, and conditions of 
                        issuance shall apply in like manner as the 
                        initial issuance of quarter dollars under this 
                        subsection, except that the issuance of quarter 
                        dollars pursuant to such determination bearing 
                        the first design shall commence in order 
                        immediately following the last issuance of 
                        quarter dollars under the first round.
                            ``(iv) Continuation until all states are 
                        honored.--If the Secretary makes a 
                        determination under clause (i), the program 
                        under this subsection shall continue until a 
                        second site in each State has been so honored.
            ``(8) Designs after end of program.--Upon the completion of 
        the coin program under this subsection, the design on--
                    ``(A) the obverse of the quarter dollar shall 
                revert to the same design containing an image of 
                President Washington in effect for the quarter dollar 
                before the institution of the 50-State quarter dollar 
                program; and
                    ``(B) notwithstanding the fourth sentence of 
                subsection (d)(1), the reverse of the quarter dollar 
                shall contain an image of General Washington crossing 
                the Delaware River prior to the Battle of Trenton.
            ``(9) National site.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
        term `national site' means any site under the supervision, 
        management, or conservancy of the National Park Service, the 
        United States Forest Service, the United States Fish and 
        Wildlife Service, or any similar department or agency of the 
        Federal Government, including any national park, national 
        monument, national battlefield, national military park, 
        national historical park, national historic site, national 
        lakeshore, seashore, recreation area, parkway, scenic river, or 
        trail and any site in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
            ``(10) Application in event of independence.--If any 
        territory becomes independent or otherwise ceases to be a 
        territory or possession of the United States before quarter 
        dollars bearing designs which are emblematic of such territory 
        are minted pursuant to this subsection, this subsection shall 
        cease to apply with respect to such territory.''.

                 TITLE II--BULLION INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

SEC. 201. SILVER BULLION COIN.

    Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after subsection (t) (as added by title I of this Act) the 
following new subsection:
    ``(u) Silver Bullion Investment Product.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall strike and make 
        available for sale such number of bullion coins as the 
        Secretary determines to be appropriate that are exact 
        duplicates of the quarter dollars issued under subsection (t), 
        each of which shall--
                    ``(A) have a diameter of 3.0 inches and weigh 5.0 
                ounces;
                    ``(B) contain .999 fine silver;
                    ``(C) have incused into the edge the fineness and 
                weight of the bullion coin;
                    ``(D) bear an inscription of the denomination of 
                such coin, which shall be `quarter dollar'; and
                    ``(E) not be minted or issued by the United States 
                Mint as so-called `fractional' bullion coins or in any 
                size other than the size described in paragraph (A).
            ``(2) Availability for sale.--Bullion coins minted under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) shall become available for sale no sooner 
                than the first day of the calendar year in which the 
                circulating quarter dollar of which such bullion coin 
                is a duplicate is issued; and
                    ``(B) may only be available for sale during the 
                year in which such circulating quarter dollar is 
                issued.
            ``(3) Distribution.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In addition to the authorized 
                dealers utilized by the Secretary in distributing 
                bullion coins and solely for purposes of distributing 
                bullion coins issued under this subsection, the 
                Director of the National Park Service, or the designee 
                of the Director, may purchase numismatic items issued 
                under this subsection, but only in units of no fewer 
                than 1,000 at a time, and the Director, or the 
                Director's designee, may resell or repackage such 
                numismatic items as the Director determines to be 
                appropriate.
                    ``(B) Resale.--The Director of the National Park 
                Service, or the designee of the Director, may resell, 
                at cost and without repackaging, numismatic items 
                acquired by the Director or such designee under 
                subparagraph (A) to any party affiliated with any 
                national site honored by a quarter dollar under 
                subsection (t) for repackaging and resale by such party 
                in the same manner and to the same extent as such party 
                would be authorized to engage in such activities under 
                subparagraph (A) if the party were acting as the 
                designee of the Director under such subparagraph.''.
                                 <all>