[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 105 (Thursday, July 30, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S9481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CBO COST ESTIMATE ON S. 1283

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
and Urban Affairs reported S. 1283, the ``Little Rock Nine 
Congressional Gold Medal Act'' on Friday, June 26, 1998. The Committee 
report, S. 105-245, was filed on Friday, July 10, 1998.
  The Congressional Budget Office cost estimate required by Senate Rule 
XXVI, section 11(b) of the Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 
of the Congressional Budget Impoundment and Control Act, was not 
available at the time of filing and, therefore, was not included in the 
Committee Report. Instead, the Committee indicated the Congressional 
Budget Office cost estimate would be published in the Congressional 
Record when it became available.
  Mr. President, I ask that the full statement and cover letter from 
the Congressional Budget Office regarding S. 1283 be printed in the 
Record. 
  The material follows:

                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                    Washington, DC, July 23, 1998.
     Hon. Alfonse M. D'Amato,
     Chairman, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 
         U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1283, an act to 
     award congressional gold medals to the ``Little Rock Nine'' 
     on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the integration of 
     the Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is John R. 
     Righter.
           Sincerely,
                                        June E. O'Neill, Director.
       Enclosure.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

     S. 1283--An act to award congressional gold medals to the 
         ``Little Rock Nine'' on the occasion of the 40th 
         anniversary of the integration of the Central High School 
         in Little Rock, Arkansas
       S. 1283 would authorize the President to present gold 
     medals to Jean Brown Trickey, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Melba 
     Patillo Beals, Terrence Roberts, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma 
     Mothershed Wair, Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, and 
     Jefferson Thomas, referred to as the ``Little Rock Nine,'' on 
     behalf of the Congress. To help recover the costs of the gold 
     medals, the legislation would authorize the U.S. Mint to 
     strike and sell bronze duplicates of the medals at a price 
     that covers production costs for both the medals and the 
     duplicates.
       Based on the costs of recent medals produced by the Mint, 
     CBO estimates that authorizing the gold medals would increase 
     direct spending from the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund by 
     about $65,000 in fiscal year 1999, largely to cover the cost 
     of the gold for each medal. The Mint could recoup some of 
     those costs by selling bronze duplicates to the public; 
     however, based on the sales of duplicates in previous cases, 
     we expect that the proceeds from the duplicates would not 
     cover the cost of the medals.
       In addition to authorizing the gold medals, the legislation 
     would allow the Mint to continue selling coins commemorating 
     Jackie Robinson through the end of this calendar year. CBO 
     estimates that extending the time by which the Mint can sell 
     these coins would increase collections to the Mint by about 
     $1 million over fiscal years 1998 and 1999. (The Mint's 
     authority to sell the coins expired on July 1.) According to 
     the Mint, it has close to 80,000 coins in its inventory. If 
     the Mint were to sell all of its remaining inventory, it 
     would generate between $3 million and $5 million in 
     additional collections, net of surcharges that must be paid 
     to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a nonprofit organization. 
     That range depends on whether the Mint would sell some or all 
     of the coins in bulk at a discounted price. Based on the 
     sales of previous commemorative coin programs and because the 
     coins were available already for purchase by the public, CBO 
     expects that the Mint would sell far less than the amount of 
     its remaining inventory. In any event, because the Mint can 
     retain and spend the additional collections on other 
     commercial activities, CBO estimates that the provision would 
     have no net budgetary impact over time.
       S. 1283 would affect direct spending, so pay-as-you-go 
     procedures would apply. S. 1283 contains no intergovernmental 
     or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded 
     Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of 
     state, local, or tribal governments.
       The CBO staff contact is John R. Righter. This estimate was 
     approved by Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant Director for 
     Budget Analysis.

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