[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1982 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1982
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition
and celebration of the National Women's Hall of Fame.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 28, 2019
Mr. Morelle (for himself, Ms. Moore, Ms. Meng, and Mr. Reed) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition
and celebration of the National Women's Hall of Fame.
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 ``National Women's Hall of Fame
Commemorative Coin Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) In 1969, the National Women's Hall of Fame was
established in Seneca Falls, New York, the location of the
first Women's Rights Convention in 1848. A total of 276 women
have been inducted represented well by the first class that
included Jane Addams, Marian Anderson, Susan B. Anthony, Clara
Barton, Mary MacLeod Bethune, Elizabeth Blackwell, Pearl S.
Buck, Rachel Carson, Mary Cassatt, Emily Dickinson, Amelia
Earhart, Alice Hamilton, Helen Hayes, Helen Keller, Eleanor
Roosevelt, Florence Sabin, Margaret Chase Smith, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, Helen Brooke Taussig and Harriet Tubman.
(2) The National Women's Hall of Fame is the Nation's
oldest membership organization dedicated to recognizing and
celebrating the achievements of great American women.
(3) The involvement of women in the Nation's history is
inadequately chronicled, commemorated and celebrated as
reflected in the following:
(A) Fewer than 5 percent of the 2,400 national
historic landmarks chronicle women's achievements.
(B) Only 9 of the 112 statues in the Capitol's
Statuary Hall are of women.
(C) The National Park Service notes that only 3 of
the 152 national monuments in the United States are
dedicated to historic female figures.
(D) Of the 5,575 outdoor sculpture portraits of
historical figures in the United States, 559 portray
women according to the Smithsonian American Art
Museum's online inventories catalog.
(E) None of the 30 National managed under the
National Park Service specifically honor women.
(F) 3 of the 78 National Historic Sites commemorate
women.
(G) Only 1 of the 56 new quarters issued by the
U.S. Mint from 1999 through 2017 commemorated a woman.
(H) Only 219 U.S. Postal Stamps were issued to
commemorate women.
(4) The National Women's Hall of Fame will complete
rehabilitation of its new home at the former Seneca Falls
Knitting Mill, which is a historic building included in the
National Historic Registry. The new building has over 20,000
square feet available for artifacts to ensure that women's
history and women's contribution to American history will be
preserved and recounted for future generations.
(5) The National Women's Hall of Fame plans to design an
educational program utilizing video conference technology with
students and teachers participating in interactive lessons led
by educators from the National Women's Hall of Fame. This
program will provide important lessons on the impact that women
have had on mathematics, geography, education, sciences,
medicine, military, government, civil rights, economics,
industrial technology, arts, and communication.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations.--In recognition and celebration of the National
Women's Hall of Fame, 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 75,000 $5 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 8.359 grams;
(B) have diameter of 0.850 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90 percent gold.
(2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 500,000 $1 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 26.73 grams;
(B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90 percent silver.
(3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 1,000,000 half
dollar coins which shall--
(A) weigh 11.34 grams;
(B) have 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.
(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) 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 in a
fashion that provides a more dramatic display of the obverse design
chosen pursuant to section 4(c).
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 National Women's Hall of Fame; and
(B) the Commission of Fine Arts; and
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory
Committee.
(b) Designations 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) Selection and Approval Process for Obverse Design.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall hold a competition to
determine the design of the common obverse of the coins minted
under this Act, with such design being emblematic of women's
contribution to American history.
(2) Selection and approval.--Proposals for the 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. The
Secretary shall encourage 3-dimensional models to be submitted
as part of the design proposals.
(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.
(4) Compensation.--The Secretary shall determine
compensation for the winning design under this subsection,
which shall be not less than $5,000. The Secretary shall take
into account this compensation amount when determining the sale
price described in section 6(a).
(5) Reverse design.--The design on the common reverse of
the coins minted under this Act shall depict a design
incorporating commemoration of the passage of the 19th
Amendment to the Constitution recognizing the right of women to
vote.
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.
(a) Quality of Coins.--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,
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, 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.
(3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin.
(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 to
the National Women's Hall of Fame Foundation to establish an endowment
fund that will provide long-term financing for the National Women's
Hall of Fame's operations.
(c) Audits.--The National Women's Hall of Fame Foundation 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 Committee on the Budget of the House of
Representatives, provided that such statement has been submitted prior
to the vote on passage.
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