[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S1417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CAMPBELL:
  S. 398. A bill to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 
in commemoration of Native American history and culture; to the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.


                      The Buffalo Coin Act of 1999

 Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I introduce the Buffalo 
Nickel Coin Act, a bill based on legislation I introduced in the 105th 
Congress, S. 1112 and Senate Amendment 3013. This bill authorizes the 
minting of a limited-edition commemorative coin, based on the design of 
the original Buffalo Nickel, which was in circulation from 1913 to 
1938. It also directs the dedication of profits from the sale of the 
coin to the construction of the Smithsonian's Museum of the Native 
American. This bill is in compliance with USC Title 31, the 
Commemorative Coin Act.
  In February 1998, I presented the design of the coin to the Mint 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 then 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 1998 annual report, the Committee approved 
the minting of a half-dollar coin, based on the design of the Buffalo 
Nickel, which will go into circulation in 2001. 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.
  I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 398

       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 ``Buffalo Coin Act of 1999''.

     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, 
     2001, 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 of the 
     Senate, 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.--
       ``(A) In general.--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.
       ``(B) Proceeds.--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--
       ``(i) commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 
     establishment of the Museum; and
       ``(ii) supplementing the endowment and educational outreach 
     funds of the Museum.''.
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