[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6701 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6701

To provide for a program for circulating quarter dollar coins that are 
emblematic of prominent civil rights leaders and important events that 
                 have advanced civil rights in America.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2008

 Mr. Watt (for himself, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. 
    Honda, and Ms. Waters) 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 prominent civil rights leaders and important events that 
                 have advanced civil rights in America.

    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 Quarter Dollar Coin Act 
of 2008''.

                 TITLE I--CIVIL RIGHTS QUARTER DOLLARS

SEC. 101. ISSUANCE OF REDESIGNED QUARTER DOLLARS EMBLEMATIC OF 
              PROMINENT CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS AND CIVIL RIGHTS EFFORTS 
              IN AMERICA.

    Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (r) (as added by section 
        622 of the Financial Services and General Government 
        Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-161) as subsection 
        (s); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(t) Redesign and Issuance of Quarter Dollars Emblematic of 
Prominent Civil Rights Leaders and Civil Rights Efforts in America.--
            ``(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 after the end of the program 
                established under subsection (s) shall have designs on 
                the reverse selected in accordance with this subsection 
                which are emblematic of prominent civil rights leaders 
                and important events that have advanced civil rights in 
                America.
                    ``(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.
            ``(2) Selection of civil rights leaders and events and 
        design.--The designs selected for the reverse of the coins 
        described under this subsection--
                    ``(A) Civil rights leaders and events.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The selection of 
                        prominent civil rights leaders and events that 
                        have advanced civil rights in America to be 
                        honored with a coin under this subsection shall 
                        be chosen by the Secretary after consultation 
                        with the Congressional Black Caucus, the 
                        Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the 
                        Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
                            ``(ii) Coins may depict individuals and 
                        events such as--
                                    ``(I) Martin Luther King, Jr.;
                                    ``(II) Harriet Tubman and the 
                                Underground Railroad;
                                    ``(III) The Little Rock Nine;
                                    ``(IV) Rosa Parks;
                                    ``(V) Cesar Chavez;
                                    ``(VI) Antonia Pantoja;
                                    ``(VII) Dionisio (Dennis) Chavez;
                                    ``(VIII) Patsy Mink;
                                    ``(IX) Philip Vera Cruz; and
                                    ``(X) Thurgood Marshall.
                            ``(iii) No portrait of a living individual 
                        shall be selected for a coin under this 
                        subsection.
                            ``(iv) 40 civil rights leaders and events 
                        shall be selected to be commemorated with coins 
                        under this subsection.
                            ``(v) The selection process under clause 
                        (i) for--
                                    ``(I) the first 32 coin designs 
                                shall be completed before the end of 
                                the 2-year period beginning on the date 
                                of the enactment of the Civil Rights 
                                Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008; and
                                    ``(II) the remaining coin designs 
                                shall be completed before the end of 
                                the 2-year period beginning on the date 
                                the first coin is issued that bears the 
                                first design selected under this 
                                subsection.
                    ``(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 Congressional Black 
                                Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic 
                                Caucus, and the Congressional Asian 
                                Pacific American Caucus;
                                    ``(II) the Secretary of the 
                                Interior; and
                                    ``(III) the Commission of Fine 
                                Arts;
                            ``(ii) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage 
                        Advisory Committee; and
                            ``(iii) in the case of a design depicting 
                        the contribution of an individual civil rights 
                        leader, shall not depict the individual in a 
                        size such that the coin could be considered to 
                        be a `2-headed' coin.
            ``(3) Issuance of coins.--
                    ``(A) Rate of issuance.--The quarter dollar coins 
                bearing designs of civil rights leaders and events 
                under this subsection shall be issued at the rate of 5 
                new designs during each year of the period of issuance 
                under this subsection.
                    ``(B) 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.
                    ``(C) Duration.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
                program established under this subsection shall 
                continue in effect until a each of the selected civil 
                rights leaders and events have been honored with a 
                coin.
            ``(4) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of 
        sections 5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection 
        shall be considered to be numismatic items.
            ``(5) 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.
            ``(6) 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.''.

                 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.''.
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