[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 21, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S9443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Bayh, and Mr. 
        Fitzgerald):
  S. 2817. A bill to provide for the redesign of the reverse of the 
Lincoln 1-cent coin in 2009 in commemoration of the 200th anniversary 
of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln; to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill to honor 
Abraham Lincoln in 2009, the bicentennial of his birth, by issuing a 
series of 1-cent coins with designs on the reverse that are emblematic 
of the 4 major periods of his life, in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and 
Washington, D.C. The bill would also provide for a longer-term redesign 
of the reverse of 1-cent coins so that after 2009 they will bear an 
image emblematic of Lincoln's preservation of the United States as a 
single and united country.
  Abraham Lincoln was one of our greatest leaders, demonstrating 
enormous courage and strength of character during the Civil War, 
perhaps the greatest crisis in our Nation's history. Lincoln was born 
in Kentucky, grew to adulthood in Indiana, achieved fame in Illinois, 
and led the Nation in Washington, D.C. He rose to the Presidency 
through a combination of honesty, integrity, intelligence, and 
commitment to the United States.
  Adhering to the belief that all men are created equal, Lincoln led 
the effort to free all slaves in the United States. Despite the great 
passions aroused by the Civil War, Lincoln had a generous heart and 
acted with malice toward none and with charity for all. Lincoln made 
the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved, dying from an 
assassin's bullet on April 15, 1865. All Americans could benefit from 
studying the life of Abraham Lincoln.
  The ``Lincoln cent'' was introduced in 1909 on the 100th anniversary 
of Lincoln's birth, making the front design by sculptor Victor David 
Brenner the most enduring image on the nation's coinage. President 
Theodore Roosevelt was so impressed by Brenner's talent that he was 
chosen to design the likeness of Lincoln for the coin, adapting a 
design from a plaque Brenner had prepared earlier. In the nearly 100 
years of production of the ``Lincoln cent,'' there have been only two 
designs on the reverse: the original, featuring two wheat-heads, and 
the current representation of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
  On the occasion of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth and the 100th 
anniversary of the production of the Lincoln cent, we should recognize 
his great achievement in ensuring that the United States remained on 
Nation, united and inseparable.
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