[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1929 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1929

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
                             of Mark Twain.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 30, 2011

Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Blunt, 
   Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mrs. Feinstein) 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 Mark Twain.

    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 ``Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was a 
        unique American voice whose literary work has had a lasting 
        effect on the history and culture of the United States.
            (2) Mark Twain remains one of the best known Americans in 
        the world, with over 6,500 editions of his books translated 
        into 75 languages.
            (3) The literary and educational legacy of Mark Twain 
        remains strong. Nearly every book he wrote is still in print, 
        including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of 
        Huckleberry Finn, neither of which has gone out of print since 
        it was first published, more than a century ago.
            (4) In the past 2 decades alone, there have been more than 
        100 books published and more than 250 doctoral dissertations 
        written on the life and work of Mark Twain.
            (5) Even today, people in the United States seek to know 
        more about the life and work of Mark Twain. People from around 
        the world and all 50 States visit national historic landmarks 
        like the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, 
        and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, 
        Missouri.
            (6) The work of Mark Twain is remembered for addressing the 
        complex social issues facing the United States at the turn of 
        the century, including the legacy of the Civil War, race 
        relations, and the economic inequalities of the so-called 
        ``Gilded Age''.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following coins in commemoration of Mark Twain:
            (1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 100,000 $5 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 350,000 $1 coins, 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 section 5134 and 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.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the life and legacy of Mark Twain.
            (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 ``2016''; 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 the Board of the Mark Twain House 
        and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage 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 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2016.

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price.--The coins issued 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 section 7(a) 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) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins 
issued 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.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

    (a) In General.--All sales of coins issued 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.
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f)(1) of title 31, 
United States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the 
sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the 
Secretary as follows:
            (1) One-fourth of the surcharges shall be paid to the Mark 
        Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, to support the 
        restoration of the Mark Twain house and grounds and to ensure 
        growth and innovation in museum programming to research, 
        promote, and educate on the legacy of Mark Twain.
            (2) One-fourth of the surcharges shall be paid to the Mark 
        Twain Project at the Bancroft Library of the University of 
        California, Berkeley, California, to support programs to study 
        and promote the legacy of Mark Twain.
            (3) One-fourth of the surcharges shall be paid to the 
        Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College, New York, to 
        support programs to study and promote the legacy of Mark Twain.
            (4) One-fourth of the surcharges shall be paid to the Mark 
        Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, to 
        preserve historical sites relating to Mark Twain and to support 
        programs to study and promote the legacy of Mark Twain.
    (c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of each of the organizations referred to in subsection (b) as may 
be related to the expenditures of amounts paid under that subsection.
    (d) Limitation.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), no surcharge may 
be included with respect to the issuance under this Act of any coin 
during a calendar year if, as of the time of such issuance, the 
issuance of such coin would result in the number of commemorative coin 
programs issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative 
coin program issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, 
United States Code (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
Act). The Secretary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 
this subsection.
                                 <all>