[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4703 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4703

  To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins to honor and 
  memorialize the tragedy of the Sultana Steamboat explosion of 1865, 
   which is the greatest maritime disaster in United States history.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2021

 Mr. Crawford (for himself and Mr. Westerman) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins to honor and 
  memorialize the tragedy of the Sultana Steamboat explosion of 1865, 
   which is the greatest maritime disaster in United States history.

    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 ``Sultana Steamboat Disaster 
Commemorative Coin Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) On April 27, 1865, the Sultana, a Mississippi River 
        paddlewheel steamboat, exploded killing nearly 1,200 of the 
        2,137 passengers and crew on board. Based on the number of 
        recorded casualties, this event is the worst maritime disaster 
        in United States history.
            (2) The Sultana was launched on January 3, 1863, and was 
        built for speed and capacity. Its four tubular, fire-tube 
        boilers could generate twice as much steam per fuel load as 
        conventional fuel boilers at that time. However, these 
        advantages came with shortcomings in safety. In a tubular 
        boiler system, the water levels had to always be maintained. 
        Any slight dip in the water would cause sediment build up 
        around the boilers or lead to hot spots on the boilers leading 
        to metal fatigue. Both occurrences greatly increased the risk 
        of explosion. Additionally, the Sultana was built with highly 
        flammable lightweight wood that was covered with paint and 
        varnish. The likelihood of any such explosion would be 
        devastating.
            (3) Those aboard the boat were mostly paroled Union 
        soldiers having been taken prisoners of war and sent to the 
        notoriously overcrowded Confederate prisons of Cahaba in 
        Alabama and Andersonville in Georgia. These men largely hailed 
        from the States of Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, 
        Kentucky, and West Virginia. The POWs that survived these 
        prisons at the end of the Civil War in April 1865 were marched 
        to Vicksburg, Mississippi, for their return north.
            (4) The Union army was paying the Sultana's captain $5 for 
        each enlisted man and $10 for each officer taken aboard. The 
        Sultana originally was only built for a capacity of 376 people, 
        and now found itself crowded with 2,137 people.
            (5) Bound for Cairo, Illinois, and forcing itself against 
        the strong Mississippi River current, the Sultana was ten miles 
        upriver from Memphis, Tennessee, at 2 a.m., when the strained 
        boilers exploded. Many were killed instantly by the explosion; 
        many others were killed by fire, falling timbers, shrapnel, 
        searing steam from the boilers, and drowning.
            (6) The remains of the Sultana took about twenty minutes to 
        burn to the waterline and resting in the mud on the Arkansas-
        side of the Mississippi River. It is believed to be buried 
        today under twenty feet of soil beneath a soybean field near 
        Marion, Arkansas, in Crittenden County.
            (7) Many of the dead were buried in Memphis cemeteries. 
        Bodies of the deceased that could be identified were taken home 
        where cemetery markers pay tribute.
            (8) The Sultana disaster was overshadowed in the press by 
        other major events surrounding the end of the American Civil 
        War, including the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln 
        on April 15, 1865, and subsequently, the killing of President 
        Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, on April 26, 1865, just 
        one day before the Sultana disaster.
            (9) A small group in Marion, Arkansas, formed the Sultana 
        Historical Preservation Society and opened a modest museum in 
        2015. The Society, a 501(c)(3) organization, is now planning a 
        new Sultana Disaster Museum to be located in the center of the 
        City of Marion, at the site of the original Marion Public 
        School gymnasium, a Works Progress Administration era building 
        opened in 1939.
                    (A) On April 27, 2021, the 156th anniversary of the 
                steamboat explosion, the Society announced an initial 
                $7.5 million capital campaign to fund the new museum. 
                The goal has since increased to $14 million to 
                accommodate upgraded exhibit designs.
                    (B) The future museum will commemorate and honor 
                those who experienced the horrific disaster and 
                preserve a piece of United States history.
                    (C) The museum is projected to attract 50,000 
                visitors to Marion, Arkansas, annually, with tourists 
                projected to contribute over $3.5 million in spending 
                in the surrounding cities.
            (10) The commemorative coins will contribute to additional 
        funding for the future Sultana disaster museum, while 
        recognizing and remembering this historical tragedy and those 
        who perished in the explosion.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--In recognition and remembrance of the tragedy 
of the Sultana Steamboat explosion of 1865, which is the greatest 
maritime disaster in United States history, 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 100,000 $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 500,000 $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 not less than 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.
    (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. DESIGNS OF COINS.

    (a) Designs Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The designs of the coins minted under this 
        section shall be emblematic of the historical significance of 
        the Sultana disaster, with special recognition and remembrance 
        to the lives lost, including the recently released Union 
        soldiers returning home after having been prisoners of war 
        during the American Civil War at Confederate prisons located at 
        Andersonville and Cahaba.
            (2) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin minted 
        under this Act there shall be--
                    (A) a designation of the denomination of the coin;
                    (B) an inscription of the year ``2023''; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Selection.--The designs of the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with--
                    (A) the Commission of Fine Arts; and
                    (B) the Sultana Historical Preservation Society, 
                Inc.; 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) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins, to the 
public, minted under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning 
on January 1, 2023.

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) 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.
    (c) Marketing and Educational Campaign.--The Secretary shall 
develop and execute a marketing, promotion, and educational program to 
promote the collecting of the coins authorized under this Act.

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 gold coin.
            (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 silver 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 to the Sultana 
Historical Preservation Society, Inc., for the purpose of establishing 
and maintaining a new Sultana disaster museum.
    (c) Audits.--The surcharge recipient 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.
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