[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 45 (Friday, April 15, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S3736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN:
  S. 811. A bill to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 
in commemoration of the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln; 
to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill that will 
honor Abraham Lincoln with a commemorative coin and provide funds to 
the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which has been charged by 
Congress with planning the celebration of Lincoln's bicentennial in 
2009.
  The bill authorizes the Treasury to mint 500,000 one dollar silver 
coins. The design, which will represent the life and legacy of Abraham 
Lincoln, will be selected by the Secretary after consultation with the 
Commission of Fine Arts and the ALBC and reviewed by the Citizens 
Coinage Advisory Committee.
  The coins will be sold for face value plus a $10 surcharge and the 
cost of designing and issuing them. All funds collected by the 
surcharge will be provided to the ALBC to further its work.
  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, As we near the bicentennial of 
Lincoln's birth, we should recognize his great achievement in ensuring 
that the United States remained one Nation, united and inseparable.
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