[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 639 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 639

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
   of the centennial of the establishment of the Tomb of the Unknown 
                                Soldier.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 4, 2019

 Mr. Cotton (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Jones, Ms. Warren, Mrs. 
Capito, Mr. Daines, and Mrs. Hyde-Smith) 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 centennial of the establishment of the Tomb of the Unknown 
                                Soldier.

    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 ``Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 
Centennial Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a memorial site at 
        Arlington National Cemetery. On March 4, 1921, Congress 
        approved the burial of an unidentified soldier of the United 
        States on the site to commemorate the unknown soldiers who died 
        during World War I.
            (2) As of the date of enactment of this Act, the site also 
        includes unknown soldiers from World War II and the Korean War. 
        These graves are marked with white marble slabs embedded in the 
        plaza below the original sarcophagus.
            (3) The original white marble sarcophagus of the unknown 
        soldier from World War I features 3 Greek figures representing 
        peace, victory, and valor. There are 6 wreaths, 3 sculpted on 
        each side, which represent the major campaigns of World War I.
            (4) The original unknown soldier lay in the rotunda of the 
        Capitol from his arrival in the United States until Armistice 
        Day, 1921. President Warren G. Harding officiated at the 
        interment ceremonies at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington 
        National Cemetery.
            (5) The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded 24 hours a 
        day, 365 days a year, and in any weather by Tomb Guard 
        sentinels. The sentinels, all of whom are volunteers, are 
        considered to be the best of the elite 3rd Infantry Regiment of 
        the Army (commonly known as the ``Old Guard''), headquartered 
        at Fort Myer, Virginia.
            (6) Inscribed on the back of the Tomb of the Unknown 
        Soldier are the words, ``Here rests in honored glory an 
        American soldier known but to God''.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in 
this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not more than 
100,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the centennial of the 
establishment of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 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.
    (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 be emblematic of the centennial of the establishment 
        of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
            (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 ``2021''; 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) chosen by the Secretary after consultation with--
                    (A) the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the 
                Unknown Soldier; and
                    (B) 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 1-year period beginning on January 1, 2021.

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 described in section 7 with respect to 
        the 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 date on which 
        the coins are issued.
            (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, 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 World War I Museum and Memorial for the purposes of 
commemorating the centennial of the establishment of the Tomb of the 
Unknown Soldier.
    (c) Audits.--The National World War I Museum and Memorial shall be 
subject to the audit requirements under section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, 
United States Code, with respect to the amounts received under 
subsection (b).
    (d) Limitation.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), no 
        surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance of any 
        coin under this Act during a calendar year if, on the date of 
        the issuance, the issuance of the coin would result in the 
        number of commemorative coin programs issued during that year 
        to exceed the limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, 
        United States Code.
            (2) Issuance of guidance.--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 shall result 
        in no net cost to the Federal Government; and
            (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, may 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.

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 (2 U.S.C. 931 et seq.), 
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 Senate, provided that such statement has been 
submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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