[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1718 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1718

To authorize the minting of a coin in honor of the 75th anniversary of 
            the end of World War II, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2017

   Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Rubio, Mr. 
Cassidy, and Ms. Warren) 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 in honor of the 75th anniversary of 
            the end of World War II, and for other purposes.

    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 ``75th Anniversary of the End of World 
War II Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States entered World War II as a result of 
        the surprise Japanese attack against our fleet at Pearl Harbor, 
        Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, which killed 2,403 people of the 
        United States;
            (2) the United States joined the wartime Allied cause 
        against the militarist, fascist, and racist dictatorships of 
        Germany, Japan, and Italy (the Axis), fighting for President 
        Franklin D. Roosevelt's ``Four Freedoms'' (freedom of speech, 
        of worship, from want, and from fear);
            (3) the United States placed no more than 16,000,000 of its 
        citizens into uniform in the course of the struggle, enduring a 
        string of early defeats, recovering to conduct a total war on 
        land, sea, and air, and eventually establishing total dominance 
        over its enemies;
            (4) the war took the lives of 405,399 United States 
        military personnel, fellow citizens who made the supreme 
        sacrifice in a perilous moment in the history of the United 
        States, giving their lives for the cause of democracy and 
        peace;
            (5) the conflict led to a comprehensive transformation of 
        the home front from a civilian economy dedicated to peacetime 
        production into the mightiest engine of military might in human 
        history (labeled the ``Arsenal of Democracy''), demanding the 
        participation of the entire citizenry and thus leading to 
        increased opportunities for racial minorities and women;
            (6) the war ended on September 2, 1945, after the 
        unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and 
        Imperial Japan, and a total victory for the United States and 
        the Allies;
            (7) Allied victory in World War II transformed the United 
        States into the leader of the ``free world,'' a community of 
        countries dedicated to democratic principles and to resisting 
        all forms of tyranny, including authoritarian, militarist, or 
        communist, and an international order founded on open 
        societies, liberal economies, and the peaceful resolution of 
        disputes;
            (8) participation in the wartime struggle emboldened women, 
        African Americans and other previously marginalized groups to 
        seek equal rights, encouraged the growth of the civil rights 
        movement, and thus contributed to the development of ``a more 
        perfect union,'' guaranteeing freedom, justice, and equality 
        for all;
            (9) the generation of United States citizens who fought 
        World War II is passing away with the march of time, and that 
        therefore the urgent need to give honor to those who served is 
        all the more critical; and
            (10) the period from May 8, 2020, to September 2, 2020, 
        will mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the involvement of 
        the United States in World War II and the surrender of Nazi 
        Germany and Imperial Japan, respectively.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $5 Gold Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not more than 
50,000 $5 coins in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of 
World War II, each of which shall--
            (1) weigh 8.359 grams;
            (2) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
            (3) contain not less than 90 percent gold.
    (b) $1 Silver Coins.--The Secretary shall mint and issue not more 
than 500,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the 
end of World War II, each of which shall--
            (1) weigh 26.73 grams;
            (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
            (3) contain not less than 90 percent silver.
    (c) Half Dollar Clad Coins.--The Secretary shall mint and issue not 
more than 750,000 half dollar clad coins in commemoration of the 75th 
Anniversary of the end of World War II, each of which shall--
            (1) weigh 11.34 grams;
            (2) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and
            (3) be minted to the specifications for half dollar coins 
        contained in section 5112 (b) of title 31, United States Code.
    (d) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be legal 
tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.
    (e) 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.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) In General.--The design of the coins minted under this Act 
shall be emblematic of the great sacrifices made by millions of people 
of the United States 75 years ago to bring a victorious end to World 
War II.
    (b) Designation and Inscriptions.--On each coin minted under this 
Act, there shall be--
            (1) a designation of the value of the coin;
            (2) an inscription of the year ``2020''; and
            (3) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We 
        Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E Pluribus Unum''.
    (c) Design.--On each coin minted under this Act, there shall be a 
representation of the World War II Victory Medal, awarded to all 16 
million United States military personnel who served from December 7, 
1941, to December 31, 1946.
    (d) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation with The 
        National WWII Museum and the Commission of Fine Arts; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens of 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 under this 
Act only during the period beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on 
December 31, 2020.

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be sold by 
Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
            (1) the face value of the coins;
            (2) the surcharge provided in section 7 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 coin.
            (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
            (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(d).
    (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 paid to the congressionally 
designated The National WWII Museum Inc. to fund its educational 
mission of telling the story of the United States experience in World 
War II.
    (c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of The National WWII Museum Inc. as may be related to the 
expenditures of amounts paid 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 programs issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, 
United States Code (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 
The Secretary 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, 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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