[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2957 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2957

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in 
recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the 
                                 Moon.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 19, 2016

   Mr. Nelson (for himself, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Peters) 
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 commemorative coins in 
recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the 
                                 Moon.

    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 ``Apollo 11 50th Anniversary 
Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched 
        from Launch Complex 39-A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center 
        carrying Neil Armstrong, Edwin ``Buzz'' Aldrin, and Michael 
        Collins, who would become the first of human kind to complete a 
        crewed lunar landing;
            (2) the United States is the only country ever to have 
        attempted and succeeded in landing humans on a celestial body 
        off the Earth and safely returning them home, completing an 
        unprecedented engineering, scientific and political 
        achievement;
            (3) the Apollo 11 mission, culminating in humanity's first 
        steps on the Moon on July 20, 1969, honored the fallen 
        astronauts of the Apollo 1 crew, whose innovative work and 
        bravery will be remembered forever;
            (4) Apollo 11 accomplished the national goal set forth in 
        1961 by President John F. Kennedy, who stated at Rice 
        University the following year, ``We choose to go to the Moon. 
        We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other 
        things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, 
        because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best 
        of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that 
        we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and 
        one which we intend to win'';
            (5) at the height of the Cold War, the Apollo space program 
        provided the United States and the free world with a powerful 
        symbolic win, demonstrating the strength, ambition, and 
        determination of the United States in technological and 
        economic advancement, and securing our Nation's leadership in 
        space for generations to come;
            (6) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        (referred to in this Act as ``NASA'') developed the most 
        powerful launch vehicle in history, the Saturn V rocket, which 
        was used for the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s;
            (7) the Saturn V weighed 6,200,000 pounds and generated 
        7,600,000 million pounds of thrust, which NASA has equated to 
        generating more power than 86 Hoover Dams;
            (8) during the time period from 1969 through 1972, NASA 
        completed 8 Apollo missions and landed 12 men on the Moon;
            (9) the 6 missions that landed on the Moon returned with a 
        wealth of groundbreaking scientific data and over 800 pounds of 
        lunar samples;
            (10) an estimated 400,000 Americans contributed to the 
        successful program that led to the lunar landing on July 20, 
        1969, including NASA scientists, engineers, astronauts, 
        industry contractors and their engineering and manufacturing 
        workforce, as well as the political leadership of Republicans 
        and Democrats in Congress and the White House;
            (11) the Apollo program, along with its predecessor Mercury 
        and Gemini programs, inspired generations of American students 
        to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and 
        mathematics, which has fueled innovation and economic growth 
        throughout a range of industries over the last 4 decades; and
            (12) July 20, 2019, will mark the 50th anniversary of the 
        Apollo 11 landing of Neil Armstrong and Edwin ``Buzz'' Aldrin 
        on the lunar surface.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--In recognition and celebration of the 50th 
anniversary of the first manned Moon landing, 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) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of 
                0.850 inches; and
                    (C) contain not less than 90 percent gold.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 400,000 $1 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 26.73 grams;
                    (B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of 
                1.500 inches; and
                    (C) contain at least 90 percent silver.
            (3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 750,000 half-
        dollar coins which shall--
                    (A) weigh 11.34 grams;
                    (B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of 
                1.205 inches; and
                    (C) be minted to the specifications for half-dollar 
                coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United 
                States Code.
            (4) Proof silver $1 coins.--Not more than 100,000 proof $1 
        silver coins which shall--
                    (A) weigh 5 ounces;
                    (B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of 3 
                inches; and
                    (C) contain .999 fine 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 sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.
    (d) Convex Shape.--
            (1) In general.--The coins minted under this Act shall be 
        produced in a fashion similar to the 2014 National Baseball 
        Hall of Fame 75th Anniversary Commemorative Coin, so that the 
        reverse of the coin is convex to more closely resemble the 
        faceplate of the astronaut's helmet of the time and the obverse 
        concave, providing a more dramatic display of the obverse 
        design chosen pursuant to section 4(c).
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, 
        to the extent possible without significantly adding to the 
        purchase price of the coins, the coins minted under this Act 
        should be produced with the design of the reverse of the coins 
        continuing over what would otherwise be the edge of the coins, 
        such that the reverse design extends all the way to the obverse 
        design.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) In General.--The design for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with--
                    (A) the Commission of Fine Arts; and
                    (B) with respect to the design of the reverse of 
                the coins, the Administrator of NASA; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
    (b) Designations and Inscriptions.--On each coin minted under this 
Act there shall be--
            (1) a designation of the denomination of the coin;
            (2) an inscription of the year ``2019''; and
            (3) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We 
        Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E Pluribus Unum''.
    (c) Selection and Approval Process for Obverse Design.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall hold a juried, 
        compensated competition to determine the design of the common 
        obverse of the coins minted under this Act, with such design 
        being emblematic of the United States space program leading up 
        to the first manned Moon landing.
            (2) Selection process.--Proposals for the obverse design of 
        coins minted under this Act may be submitted in accordance with 
        the design selection and approval process developed by the 
        Secretary in the sole discretion of the Secretary.
            (3) Proposals.--As part of the competition described in 
        this subsection, the Secretary may accept proposals from 
        artists, engravers of the United States Mint, and members of 
        the general public, and any designs submitted for the design 
        review process described herein shall be anonymized until a 
        final selection is made.
            (4) Compensation.--The Secretary shall determine 
        compensation for the winning design under this subsection, 
        which shall be not less than $5,000.
    (d) Reverse Design.--The design on the common reverse of the coins 
minted under this Act shall be a representation of a close-up of the 
famous ``Buzz Aldrin on the Moon'' photograph taken July 20, 1969, 
showing just the visor and part of the helmet of astronaut Edwin 
``Buzz'' Aldrin, in which the visor reflects the image of the United 
States flag, astronaut Neil Armstrong, and the lunar lander.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Except with respect to coins described under 
section 3(a)(4), coins minted under this Act shall be issued in 
uncirculated and proof qualities.
    (b) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2019.

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, winning design 
        compensation, 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 minted under this Act shall 
include a surcharge as follows:
            (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin.
            (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin described 
        under section 3(a)(2).
            (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin.
            (4) A surcharge of $50 per coin for the $1 coin described 
        under section 3(a)(4).
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) 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 half to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air 
        and Space Museum's ``Destination Moon'' exhibit, for design, 
        education, and installation costs related to establishing and 
        maintaining the exhibit, and for costs related to creating a 
        traveling version of the exhibition.
            (2) One quarter to the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, for 
        costs related to the preservation, maintenance, and enhancement 
        of the Astronauts Memorial and for promotion of space 
        exploration through educational initiatives.
            (3) One quarter to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, to 
        aid its missions of promoting the importance of science and 
        technology to the general public and of aiding the United 
        States in retaining its world leadership in science and 
        technology by providing college scholarships for the very best 
        and brightest students pursuing degrees in science, technology, 
        engineering, or mathematics.
    (c) Audits.--The recipients described under subsection (b) 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 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, are 
        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, winning design compensation, 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.

SEC. 9. BUDGET COMPLIANCE.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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