[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 711 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 711

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
    of the invaluable service that working dogs provide to society.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2023

   Mr. Budd (for himself, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Tillis, and Ms. Duckworth) 
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 invaluable service that working dogs provide to society.

    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 ``Working Dog Commemorative Coin 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Dogs going back thousands of years have been tied to 
        humans whether for protection, companionship, or assisting in 
        daily activities.
            (2) The United States had an unofficial canine military 
        presence assisting soldiers in the Civil War and World War I, 
        but military K-9s did not become officially recognized until 
        March 13, 1942. During the height of the wars in Afghanistan 
        and Iraq, the United States military employed approximately 
        2,500 K-9s.
            (3) Military K-9s have seen service in every major United 
        States combat since World War I and have been praised by 
        military leadership as an indispensable asset for military, 
        police, government, and private security teams around the 
        world.
            (4) In 2000, section 2583 of title 10, United States Code 
        (commonly known as ``Robby's Law''), was enacted, which allowed 
        for the adoption of military K-9s by law enforcement agencies, 
        former handlers, and other care groups.
            (5) Since 2000, military K-9s have left service and gone 
        onto work explosive detection for police forces and work as 
        service dogs for veterans and families.
            (6) Beyond their military working capacity, working dogs 
        provide enhanced mobility assistance and renewed independence 
        for the injured and disabled. Service dogs are able to support 
        veterans struggling after war, hear for those who are deaf, see 
        for those who are blind, and even sense changes in a person's 
        body before a seizure. Working dogs play a vital role in 
        improving the lives of many.
            (7) The service dog programs of America's VetDogs were 
        created to provide enhanced mobility and renewed independence 
        to United States veterans, active-duty service members, and 
        first responders with disabilities.
            (8) America's VetDogs provides--
                    (A) guide dogs for individuals who are blind or 
                have low vision;
                    (B) hearing dogs for those who have lost their 
                hearing later in life by alerting to alarms, door 
                bells, sirens, and more;
                    (C) service dogs for those with other physical 
                disabilities that are specially trained to provide 
                balance, retrieve dropped items, open and close doors, 
                turn on and off lights, carry a backpack, and more;
                    (D) facility dogs that are specially trained to 
                spend time working with wounded veterans recovering at 
                military hospitals and veterans medical centers;
                    (E) dogs that work with physical and occupational 
                therapists as they treat soldiers and become an 
                essential part of the healing process; and
                    (F) posttraumatic stress disorder service dogs that 
                are trained to help mitigate the symptoms of 
                posttraumatic stress disorder by providing the 
                emotional and physical support a veteran may need.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--In commemoration of the invaluable service that 
working dogs provide to society, the Secretary of the Treasury 
(hereafter referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and 
issue the following coins:
            (1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
                    (C) contain 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 750,000 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.

SEC. 4. DESIGNS OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The designs of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the vast contributions that working 
        dogs serve in society to include the range of services that the 
        dogs provide in detection, military service, therapy, and 
        assistance.
            (2) Designations 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 ``2025''; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Selection.--The designs for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation with 
        America's VetDogs 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 minted 
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2025.

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, 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 of--
            (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coins;
            (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coins; and
            (3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coins.
    (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 
America's VetDogs for general expenses associated with the fulfillment 
of the mission of America's VetDogs, including for costs associated 
with--
            (1) personnel related to training, dog care, and consumer 
        needs;
            (2) consultants to facilitate the training of America's 
        VetDogs certified service dog instructors; and
            (3) travel, room, and board for clients served by America's 
        VetDogs.
    (c) Audits.--America's VetDogs 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 2 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 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.
                                 <all>