[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2498 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2498

To authorize the minting of a coin to commemorate the 400th anniversary 
       of the founding of Santa Fe, New Mexico, to occur in 2010.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 18, 2007

 Mr. Bingaman (for himself and Mr. Domenici) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the minting of a coin to commemorate the 400th anniversary 
       of the founding of Santa Fe, New Mexico, to occur in 2010.

    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 ``Santa Fe 400th Anniversary 
Commemorative Coin Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Santa Fe, New Mexico, the site of native occupation 
        centuries before European incursions, was officially elevated 
        from a plaza established in 1608 to a villa and capital city in 
        1610. Santa Fe has been the meeting place and home of many 
        cultures.
            (2) The Palace of the Governors, built in the early 17th 
        century served as the governor's quarters and the seat of 
        government under 3 flags. It is the oldest continuously used 
        public building in the United States.
            (3) La Fiesta de Santa Fe, a cultural, religious, and 
        social celebration, commemorating the resettlement of Santa Fe 
        by General Don Diego de Vargas in 1692 continues today as an 
        attraction for tourists and locals alike.
            (4) At the nexus of 3 historically important trails, Santa 
        Fe brought people and goods together over the Santa Fe Trail to 
        and from Missouri, California, and Mexico City.
            (5) Commerce on the Santa Fe Trail brought a much needed 
        boost to the economy of the American West during the recession 
        of the early 19th century. Santa Fe was the rendezvous place 
        for traders, mountain men and forty-niners on route to 
        California, and is today home to a multicultural citizenry and 
        world class art market.
            (6) The Santa Fe area is a center of market activity for 
        arts and culture year round, culminating in the world renowned 
        Indian Market, Spanish Colonial Art Market, and International 
        Folk Art Market.
            (7) New Mexico is the home to the oldest and continuously 
        inhabited indigenous communities in North America. Native 
        communities now residing in New Mexico include--
                    (A) Acoma Pueblo;
                    (B) Alamo Navajo Chapter;
                    (C) Canoncito Navajo Chapter;
                    (D) Cochiti Pueblo;
                    (E) Isleta Pueblo;
                    (F) Jemez Pueblo;
                    (G) Jicarilla Apache Tribe;
                    (H) Laguna Pueblo;
                    (I) Mescalero Apache Tribe;
                    (J) Nambe Pueblo;
                    (K) Picuris Pueblo;
                    (L) Pojoaque Pueblo;
                    (M) Ramah Navaho Chapter;
                    (N) San Felipe Pueblo;
                    (O) San Ildefonso Pueblo;
                    (P) San Juan Pueblo;
                    (Q) Sandia Pueblo;
                    (R) Santa Ana Pueblo;
                    (S) Santa Clara Pueblo;
                    (T) Santo Domingo Pueblo;
                    (U) Taos Pueblo;
                    (V) Tesuque Pueblo;
                    (W) Zia Pueblo;
                    (X) Zuni Pueblo; and
                    (Y) many others that disappeared or were moved 
                after European contact.
            (8) The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 is known to be one of the 
        first ``American Revolutions'' when the Pueblo people ousted 
        Spanish colonists from New Mexico.
            (9) The Santa Fe area has long attracted tourists, artists, 
        and writers. The classic novel Ben Hur was written, in part, by 
        then Governor Lew Wallace, in the Palace of the Governors.
            (10) A commemorative coin will help to foster an 
        understanding and appreciation of New Mexico, its history and 
        culture and the importance of Santa Fe and New Mexico to the 
        history of the United States and the world.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $5 Gold Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall issue not more than 100,000 $5 
coins, which shall--
            (1) weigh 8.359 grams;
            (2) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
            (3) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
    (b) $1 Silver Coins.--The Secretary shall issue not more than 
500,000 $1 coins, 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.
    (c) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be legal 
tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.
    (d) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5132(a)(1) of title 
31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.
    (e) Sources of Bullion.--
            (1) Gold.--The Secretary shall obtain gold for minting 
        coins under this Act from domestic sources, and pursuant to the 
        authority of the Secretary under section 5116 of title 31, 
        United States Code.
            (2) Silver.--The Secretary shall obtain silver for the 
        coins minted under this Act only from stockpiles established 
        under the Strategic and Critical Minerals Stock Piling Act (50 
        U.S.C. 98 et seq.).

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the settlement of Santa Fe, New 
        Mexico, the oldest capital city in the United States.
            (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 ``2010''; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'' (on the face of the coin), ``United States 
                of America'', and ``E Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Design Selection.--Subject to subsection (a), the design for 
the coins minted under this Act shall be selected by the Secretary, and 
shall be reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory 
Committee.

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) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the period beginning on January 1, 2010, and 
ending on December 31, 2010.

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 in subsection (c) with respect 
        to such coins; and
            (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including 
        labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, 
        marketing, and shipping).
    (b) 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.
    (c) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins 
minted under this Act at a reasonable discount.
    (d) Surcharge.--All sales of coins minted under this Act shall 
include a surcharge of--
            (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; and
            (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin.

SEC. 7. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no provision 
of law governing procurement or public contracts shall be applicable to 
the procurement of goods and services necessary for carrying out the 
provisions of this Act.
    (b) Equal Employment Opportunity.--Subsection (a) shall not relieve 
any person entering into a contract under the authority of this Act 
from complying with any law relating to equal employment opportunity.

SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

    (a) Recipients.--
            (1) In general.--All surcharges received by the Secretary 
        from the sale of coins minted under this Act shall be promptly 
        paid by the Secretary to the recipients listed under paragraphs 
        (2) and (3).
            (2) Santa fe 400th anniversary committee.--The Secretary 
        shall distribute 50 percent of the surcharges described under 
        paragraph (1) to the Santa Fe 400th Anniversary Committee, 
        Inc., to support programs to promote the understanding of the 
        legacies of Santa Fe.
            (3) Other recipients.--The Secretary shall distribute 50 
        percent of the surcharges described under paragraph (1) to the 
        Secretary of the Department of the Interior, for the purposes 
        of--
                    (A) sustaining the ongoing mission of preserving 
                Santa Fe;
                    (B) enhancing the national and international 
                educational programs;
                    (C) improving infrastructure and archaeological 
                research activities; and
                    (D) conducting other programs to support the 
                commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Santa Fe.
    (b) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of the entities specified in subsection (a), as may be related to 
the expenditure of amounts distributed under subsection (a).

SEC. 9. 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.
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