[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 239 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 239

 To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition 
                         of Christa McAuliffe.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 28, 2019

  Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Ms. Hassan) 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 recognition 
                         of Christa McAuliffe.

    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 ``Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Christa McAuliffe was a social studies teacher at 
        Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire.
            (2) In 1985, Christa McAuliffe was selected to be the first 
        participant in the Teacher in Space program of the National 
        Aeronautics and Space Administration.
            (3) On January 28, 1986, Christa McAuliffe and 6 other 
        astronauts were tragically killed during the Space Shuttle 
        Challenger disaster.
            (4) In 1989, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and 
        Technology (in this Act referred to as ``FIRST'') was founded 
        to inspire young people's interest and participation in science 
        and technology.
            (5) The mission of FIRST ``is to inspire young people to be 
        science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting 
        mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and 
        technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster 
        well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, 
        communication, and leadership''.
            (6) 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of 
        FIRST.
            (7) Each year, more than 1,000,000 children from the United 
        States and more than 86 countries participate in a FIRST 
        program.
            (8) Studies have shown that alumni of FIRST programs are 
        more likely to become scientists and engineers and to volunteer 
        in their communities.
            (9) FIRST is dedicated to carrying on the mission of 
        Christa McAuliffe of inspiring students and creating a new 
        generation of dreamers and innovators.
            (10) 2016 marked the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle 
        Challenger tragedy.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--In commemoration of Christa McAuliffe, the 
Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter referred to in this Act as the 
``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not more than 350,000 $1 coins, 
each of which shall--
            (1) weigh 26.73 grams;
            (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
            (3) 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 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) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall bear--
                    (A) an image of and the name of Christa McAuliffe 
                on the obverse side; and
                    (B) a design on the reverse side that depicts the 
                legacy of Christa McAuliffe as a teacher.
            (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 ``2020''; 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 
        family of Christa McAuliffe, FIRST, and the Commission of Fine 
        Arts; 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 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 
the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
            (1) the face value of the coins;
            (2) the surcharge provided under section 7(a) with respect 
        to the coins; and
            (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins, 
        including--
                    (A) labor;
                    (B) materials;
                    (C) dies;
                    (D) use of machinery;
                    (E) overhead expenses;
                    (F) marketing; and
                    (G) 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 the 
        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 $10 per coin.
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 
States Code, and section 8(2), all surcharges received by the Secretary 
from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by 
the Secretary to the FIRST robotics program for the purpose of engaging 
and inspiring young people, through mentor-based programs, to become 
leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics.
    (c) Audits.--The FIRST robotics program shall be subject to the 
audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States 
Code, with respect to the amounts received under subsection (b).

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 result in no 
        net cost to the Federal Government; and
            (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, are 
        disbursed to any recipient designated in section 7(b) 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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