[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1715 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1715

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
        of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 8, 2015

 Mr. Hoeven (for himself and Mr. King) 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 the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims.

    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 ``Mayflower Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, 
        in 1620 has major significance in the history of the United 
        States.
            (2) The Mayflower Compact laid the foundation and moral 
        framework for the future laws of the United States.
            (3) The General Society of Mayflower Decedents' mission 
        is--
                    (A) to tell the story of the Pilgrim's journey on 
                the Mayflower in 1620, bringing with them principles of 
                civil and religious liberty to America as memorialized 
                in the Mayflower Compact;
                    (B) to raise public awareness and increase the 
                public understanding of the importance of the Pilgrim's 
                lives and legacies; and
                    (C) to encourage a passion for history.
            (4) A commemorative coin will bring national and 
        international attention to the lasting legacy of this important 
        event.
            (5) The proceeds from a surcharge on the sale of such 
        commemorative coin will assist the financing of educational, 
        scholarship, and outreach programs.

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:
            (1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $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 100,000 $1 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 26.73 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
                    (C) contain at least 90 percent silver.
    (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 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 arrival of the Pilgrims.
            (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--
                            (i) the mint date ``2020''; and
                            (ii) the year ``1620''; 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 General Society of Mayflower 
        Descendants; 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 proof quality and uncirculated quality.
    (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 of Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins, to the 
public, minted under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning 
on January 1, 2020.

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 as follows:
            (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 gold coin.
            (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 silver 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 to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants for 
educational purposes.
    (c) Audits.--The General Society of Mayflower Descendants shall be 
subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, 
United States Code, with regard to the amounts received under 
subsection (b).
    (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.

SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.

    The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure 
that--
            (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act will not 
        result in any net cost to the United States Government; and
            (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, shall be 
        disbursed to any recipient designated in section 7 until the 
        total cost of designing and issuing all of the coins authorized 
        by this Act (including labor, materials, dies, use of 
        machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping) is 
        recovered by the United States Treasury, consistent with 
        sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code.
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