[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 40 (Wednesday, April 1, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E551-E552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       50 STATES COMMEMORATIVE COIN PROGRAM AMENDMENT ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 1, 1998

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, last year the 50 States Commemorative 
Coin Program was signed into law. Beginning next year, selected designs 
from each of the fifty states will be minted on the reverse side of 
U.S. quarters dollars for circulation. Five states per year will have 
quarters minted with corresponding designs issued in the order of the 
states' ratification of the Constitution or admission into the Union.
  In addition to the possibility of raising revenue for the federal 
treasury, attention will be focused upon the states through the 
diversity

[[Page E552]]

of designs that will commemorate their history. I believe this is a 
great program and everyone should be allowed to participate. However, 
this was not the case. As usual, the territories and the District of 
Columbia were overlooked.
  Although this nation supposedly is ``dedicated to the proposition 
that all men are created equal,'' you have to look no further than the 
territories and the District to realize that it is not. As a citizen 
lower station, one who is not allowed to vote at presidential 
elections--a delegate, not quite a full Member of Congress, who hails 
from an unincorporated territory with an unresolved political status, I 
have been designated to be the one from my home island to make sure 
that we get a fair shake anytime we can. Oftentimes the objective is 
impossible. We have to work twice as hard in order to get half as much. 
This is why I strongly support Delegate Norton's amendment to the 50 
States Commemorative Coin Program.
  The territories and the District need and deserve all the recognition 
and attention we can get. Extending the 50 States Commemorative Coin 
Program for another year to accommodate the territories and the 
District is equitable, it is sensible, and it is fair. This year marks 
Guam's centennial under the American flag. It would be a fitting 
tribute to include the territories in this commemorative coin 
initiative. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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