[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 85 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S7203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                UNITED STATES BUFFALO NICKEL ACT OF 1998

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                      CAMPBELL AMENDMENT NO. 3013

  (Ordered referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs.)
  Mr. CAMPBELL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to 
the bill (S. 1112) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 
coins in commemoration of Native American history and culture; as 
follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Buffalo Coin Act of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. BUFFALO HALF-DOLLAR.

       Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(n) Buffalo Half-Dollar.--
       ``(1) Denominations.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
     of law, during the 3-year period beginning on January 1, 
     2000, the Secretary shall mint and issue each year not more 
     than 500,000 half-dollar coins, minted in accordance with 
     this title.
       ``(2) Design requirements.--The design of the half-dollar 
     coins minted under this subsection shall be based on the 
     original 5-cent buffalo nickel designed by James Earle Fraser 
     and minted from 1913 to 1938. Each coin shall have on the 
     obverse side a profile representation of a Native American, 
     and on the reverse side a representation of a buffalo.
       ``(3) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under 
     this subsection shall be--
       ``(A) selected by the Secretary, after consultation with 
     the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the 
     Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Commission 
     of Fine Arts; and
       ``(B) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory 
     Committee.
       ``(4) Quality of coins.--Coins minted under this subsection 
     shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.
       ``(5) Sources of bullion.--The Secretary shall obtain 
     silver for minting coins under this subsection from sources 
     that the Secretary deems appropriate, including from 
     stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical 
     Materials Stockpiling Act.
       ``(6) Mint facility.--Only 1 facility of the United States 
     Mint may be used to strike any particular quality of the 
     coins minted under this subsection.
       ``(7) Sale of coins.--
       ``(A) In general.--The coins issued under this subsection 
     shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum 
     of--
       ``(i) the face value of the coins;
       ``(ii) the surcharge provided in subparagraph (D) with 
     respect to such coins; and
       ``(iii) 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 subsection at a reasonable 
     discount.
       ``(C) Prepaid orders.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid 
     orders for the coins minted under this subsection before the 
     issuance of such coins. Sale prices with respect to prepaid 
     orders shall be at a reasonable discount.
       ``(D) Surcharges.--All sales of coins minted under this 
     subsection shall include a surcharge of $3.00 per coin.
       ``(8) Distribution of surcharges.--All surcharges received 
     by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this 
     subsection shall be paid promptly by the Secretary to the 
     Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund established under section 
     5134. Proceeds from the sale of coins minted under this 
     subsection shall be made available to the National Museum of 
     the American Indian for the purposes of--
       ``(A) commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 
     establishment of the Museum; and
       ``(B) supplementing the endowment and educational outreach 
     funds of the Museum.''.

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I take the time today to submit an 
amendment which will update legislation I introduced last year. On July 
31, 1997, I introduced a bill, S. 1112, which would authorize the Mint 
to produce a commemorative Buffalo Nickel, based on the design of the 
original nickel which was in circulation from 1913 to 1938. In February 
of this year, I presented the design of the coin to the Mind and 
provided testimony regarding the history of the nickel and its design. 
Former Ambassador to Austria and Colorado buffalo rancher, Swanee Hunt, 
joined me at this presentation to share her support.
  Since introducing that bill and making the presentation, I have been 
working closely with officials at the Treasury and the Citizens 
Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee. The recommendation of the 
Committee is necessary in order to bring the coin into circulation. In 
their annual report, the Committee approved the minting of a coin, 
based on the design of the Buffalo Nickel. However, the CCCAC 
recommended that the coin be a half-dollar denomination, rather that a 
nickel, which will go into circulation in 2001.
  This amendment I am submitting today reflects their recommendation 
and complies with Title 31, the Commemorative Coin Act. All proceeds 
from the sale of this coin will continue to be paid to the Smithsonian 
Institution's National Museum of the American Indian, as the original 
legislation directed. The Committee's recommendation to put the coin 
into circulation in 2001 will coincide well with the Museum's scheduled 
opening date of 2002.
  This legislation reflects the goals of all interested parties, and 
still maintains the original goal of raising funds for the preservation 
of Native American artifacts in the Museum of the American Indian. I 
urge my colleagues to support passage of this bill.




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