[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 159 (Tuesday, December 13, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H11447-H11453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1530
                    PRESIDENTIAL $1 COIN ACT OF 2005

  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1047) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 
coins in commemoration of each of the Nation's past Presidents and 
their spouses, respectively, to improve circulation of the $1 coin, to 
create a new bullion coin, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1047

       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 ``Presidential $1 Coin Act of 
     2005''.

                     TITLE I--PRESIDENTIAL $1 COINS

     SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) There are sectors of the United States economy, 
     including public transportation, parking meters, vending 
     machines, and low-dollar value transactions, in which the use 
     of a $1 coin is both useful and desirable for keeping costs 
     and prices down.
       (2) For a variety of reasons, the new $1 coin introduced in 
     2000 has not been widely sought-after by the public, leading 
     to higher costs for merchants and thus higher prices for 
     consumers.
       (3) The success of the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program 
     (31 U.S.C. 5112(l)) for circulating quarter dollars shows 
     that a design on a United States circulating coin that is 
     regularly changed in a manner similar to the systematic 
     change in designs in such Program radically increases demand 
     for the coin, rapidly pulling it through the economy.
       (4) The 50 States Commemorative Coin Program also has been 
     an educational tool, teaching both Americans and visitors 
     something about each State for which a quarter has been 
     issued.
       (5) A national survey and study by the Government 
     Accountability Office has indicated that many Americans who 
     do not seek, or who reject, the new $1 coin for use in 
     commerce would actively seek the coin if an attractive, 
     educational rotating design were to be struck on the coin.
       (6) The President is the leader of our tripartite 
     government and the President's spouse has often set the 
     social tone for the White House while spearheading and 
     highlighting important issues for the country.
       (7) Sacagawea, as currently represented on the new $1 coin, 
     is an important symbol of American history.
       (8) Many people cannot name all of the Presidents, and 
     fewer can name the spouses, nor can many people accurately 
     place each President in the proper time period of American 
     history.
       (9) First Spouses have not generally been recognized on 
     American coinage.
       (10) In order to revitalize the design of United States 
     coinage and return circulating coinage to its position as not 
     only a necessary means of exchange in commerce, but also as 
     an object of aesthetic beauty in its own right, it is 
     appropriate to move many of the mottos and emblems, the 
     inscription of the year, and the so-called ``mint marks'' 
     that currently appear on the 2 faces of each circulating coin 
     to the edge of the coin, which would allow larger and more 
     dramatic artwork on the coins reminiscent of the so-called 
     ``Golden Age of Coinage'' in the United States, at the 
     beginning of the Twentieth Century, initiated by President 
     Theodore Roosevelt, with the assistance of noted sculptors 
     and medallic artists James Earle Fraser and Augustus Saint-
     Gaudens.
       (11) Placing inscriptions on the edge of coins, known as 
     edge-incusing, is a hallmark of modern coinage and is common 
     in large-volume production of coinage elsewhere in the world, 
     such as the 2,700,000,000 2-Euro coins in circulation, but it 
     has not been done on a large scale in United States coinage 
     in recent years.
       (12) Although the Congress has authorized the Secretary of 
     the Treasury to issue gold coins with a purity of 99.99 
     percent, the Secretary has not done so.
       (13) Bullion coins are a valuable tool for the investor 
     and, in some cases, an important aspect of coin collecting.

     SEC. 102. PRESIDENTIAL $1 COIN PROGRAM.

       Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(n) Redesign and Issuance of Circulating $1 Coins 
     Honoring Each of the Presidents of the United States.--
       ``(1) Redesign beginning in 2007.--
       ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (d) and in 
     accordance with the provisions of this subsection, $1 coins 
     issued during the period beginning January 1, 2007, and 
     ending upon the termination of the program under paragraph 
     (8), shall--
       ``(i) have designs on the obverse selected in accordance 
     with paragraph (2)(B) which are emblematic of the Presidents 
     of the United States; and
       ``(ii) have a design on the reverse selected in accordance 
     with paragraph (2)(A).
       ``(B) Continuity provision.--Notwithstanding subparagraph 
     (A), the Secretary shall continue to mint and issue $1 coins 
     which bear any design in effect before the issuance of coins 
     as required under this subsection (including the so-called 
     `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins).
       ``(2) Design requirements.--The $1 coins issued in 
     accordance with paragraph (1)(A) shall meet the following 
     design requirements:
       ``(A) Coin reverse.--The design on the reverse shall bear--
       ``(i) a likeness of the Statue of Liberty extending to the 
     rim of the coin and large enough to provide a dramatic 
     representation of Liberty while not being large enough to 
     create the impression of a `2-headed' coin;
       ``(ii) the inscription `$1' ; and
       ``(iii) the inscription `United States of America'.

[[Page H11448]]

       ``(B) Coin obverse.--The design on the obverse shall 
     contain--
       ``(i) the name and likeness of a President of the United 
     States; and
       ``(ii) basic information about the President, including--

       ``(I) the dates or years of the term of office of such 
     President; and
       ``(II) a number indicating the order of the period of 
     service in which the President served.

       ``(C) Edge-incused inscriptions.--
       ``(i) In general.--The inscription of the year of minting 
     or issuance of the coin and the inscriptions `E Pluribus 
     Unum' and `In God We Trust' shall be edge-incused into the 
     coin.
       ``(ii) Preservation of distinctive edge.--The edge-incusing 
     of the inscriptions under clause (i) on coins issued under 
     this subsection shall be done in a manner that preserves the 
     distinctive edge of the coin so that the denomination of the 
     coin is readily discernible, including by individuals who are 
     blind or visually impaired.
       ``(D) Inscriptions of `liberty'.--Notwithstanding the 
     second sentence of subsection (d)(1), because the use of a 
     design bearing the likeness of the Statue of Liberty on the 
     reverse of the coins issued under this subsection adequately 
     conveys the concept of Liberty, the inscription of `Liberty' 
     shall not appear on the coins.
       ``(E) Limitation in series to deceased presidents.--No coin 
     issued under this subsection may bear the image of a living 
     former or current President, or of any deceased former 
     President during the 2-year period following the date of the 
     death of that President.
       ``(3) Issuance of coins commemorating presidents.--
       ``(A) Order of issuance.--The coins issued under this 
     subsection commemorating Presidents of the United States 
     shall be issued in the order of the period of service of each 
     President, beginning with President George Washington.
       ``(B) Treatment of period of service.--
       ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), only 1 coin 
     design shall be issued for a period of service for any 
     President, no matter how many consecutive terms of office the 
     President served.
       ``(ii) Nonconsecutive terms.--If a President has served 
     during 2 or more nonconsecutive periods of service, a coin 
     shall be issued under this subsection for each such 
     nonconsecutive period of service.
       ``(4) Issuance of coins commemorating 4 presidents during 
     each year of the period.--
       ``(A) In general.--The designs for the $1 coins issued 
     during each year of the period referred to in paragraph (1) 
     shall be emblematic of 4 Presidents until each President has 
     been so honored, subject to paragraph (2)(E).
       ``(B) Number of 4 circulating coin designs in each year.--
     The Secretary shall prescribe, on the basis of such factors 
     as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the number of 
     $1 coins that shall be issued with each of the designs 
     selected for each year of the period referred to in paragraph 
     (1).
       ``(5) Legal tender.--The coins minted under this title 
     shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
       ``(6) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of 
     section 5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection 
     shall be considered to be numismatic items.
       ``(7) Issuance of numismatic coins.--The Secretary may mint 
     and issue such number of $1 coins of each design selected 
     under this subsection in uncirculated and proof qualities as 
     the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
       ``(8) Termination of program.--The issuance of coins under 
     this subsection shall terminate when each President has been 
     so honored, subject to paragraph (2)(E), and may not be 
     resumed except by an Act of Congress.
       ``(9) Reversion to preceding design.--Upon the termination 
     of the issuance of coins under this subsection, the design of 
     all $1 coins shall revert to the so-called `Sacagawea-design' 
     $1 coins.''.

     SEC. 103. FIRST SPOUSE BULLION COIN PROGRAM.

       Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by 
     section 102, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(o) First Spouse Bullion Coin Program.--
       ``(1) In general.--During the same period described in 
     subsection (n), the Secretary shall issue bullion coins under 
     this subsection that are emblematic of the spouse of each 
     such President.
       ``(2) Specifications.--The coins issued under this 
     subsection shall--
       ``(A) have the same diameter as the $1 coins described in 
     subsection (n);
       ``(B) weigh 0.5 ounce; and
       ``(C) contain 99.99 percent pure gold.
       ``(3) Design requirements.--
       ``(A) Coin obverse.--The design on the obverse of each coin 
     issued under this subsection shall contain--
       ``(i) the name and likeness of a person who was a spouse of 
     a President during the President's period of service;
       ``(ii) an inscription of the years during which such person 
     was the spouse of a President during the President's period 
     of service; and
       ``(iii) a number indicating the order of the period of 
     service in which such President served.
       ``(B) Coin reverse.--The design on the reverse of each coin 
     issued under this subsection shall bear--
       ``(i) images emblematic of the life and work of the First 
     Spouse whose image is borne on the obverse; and
       ``(ii) the inscription `United States of America'.
       ``(C) Designated denomination.--Each coin issued under this 
     subsection shall bear, on the reverse, an inscription of the 
     nominal denomination of the coin which shall be `$10'.
       ``(D) Design in case of no first spouse.--In the case of 
     any President who served without a spouse--
       ``(i) the image on the obverse of the bullion coin 
     corresponding to the $1 coin relating to such President shall 
     be an image emblematic of the concept of `Liberty'--

       ``(I) as represented on a United States coin issued during 
     the period of service of such President; or
       ``(II) as represented, in the case of President Chester 
     Alan Arthur, by a design incorporating the name and likeness 
     of Alice Paul, a leading strategist in the suffrage movement, 
     who was instrumental in gaining women the right to vote upon 
     the adoption of the 19th amendment and thus the ability to 
     participate in the election of future Presidents, and who was 
     born on January 11, 1885, during the term of President 
     Arthur; and

       ``(ii) the reverse of such bullion coin shall be of a 
     design representative of themes of such President, except 
     that in the case of the bullion coin referred to in clause 
     (i)(II) the reverse of such coin shall be representative of 
     the suffrage movement.
       ``(E) Design and coin for each spouse.--A separate coin 
     shall be designed and issued under this section for each 
     person who was the spouse of a President during any portion 
     of a term of office of such President.
       ``(F) Inscriptions.--Each bullion coin issued under this 
     subsection shall bear the inscription of the year of minting 
     or issuance of the coin and such other inscriptions as the 
     Secretary may determine to be appropriate.
       ``(4) Sale of bullion coins.--Each bullion coin issued 
     under this subsection shall be sold by the Secretary at a 
     price that is equal to or greater than the sum of--
       ``(A) the face value of the coins; and
       ``(B) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 
     (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead 
     expenses, marketing, and shipping).
       ``(5) Issuance of coins commemorating first spouses.--
       ``(A) In general.--The bullion coins issued under this 
     subsection with respect to any spouse of a President shall be 
     issued on the same schedule as the $1 coin issued under 
     subsection (n) with respect to each such President.
       ``(B) Maximum number of bullion coins for each design.--The 
     Secretary shall--
       ``(i) prescribe, on the basis of such factors as the 
     Secretary determines to be appropriate, the maximum number of 
     bullion coins that shall be issued with each of the designs 
     selected under this subsection; and
       ``(ii) announce, before the issuance of the bullion coins 
     of each such design, the maximum number of bullion coins of 
     that design that will be issued.
       ``(C) Termination of program.--No bullion coin may be 
     issued under this subsection after the termination, in 
     accordance with subsection (n)(8), of the $1 coin program 
     established under subsection (n).
       ``(6) Quality of coins.--The bullion coins minted under 
     this Act shall be issued in both proof and uncirculated 
     qualities.
       ``(7) Source of gold bullion.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall acquire gold for the 
     coins issued under this subsection by purchase of gold mined 
     from natural deposits in the United States, or in a territory 
     or possession of the United States, within 1 year after the 
     month in which the ore from which it is derived was mined.
       ``(B) Price of gold.--The Secretary shall pay not more than 
     the average world price for the gold mined under subparagraph 
     (A).
       ``(8) Bronze medals.--The Secretary may strike and sell 
     bronze medals that bear the likeness of the bullion coins 
     authorized under this subsection, at a price, size, and 
     weight, and with such inscriptions, as the Secretary 
     determines to be appropriate.
       ``(9) Legal tender.--The coins minted under this title 
     shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
       ``(10) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of 
     section 5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection 
     shall be considered to be numismatic items.''.

     SEC. 104. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO CIRCULATION.

       Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by 
     sections 102 and 103, by adding at the end the following:
       ``(p) Removal of Barriers to Circulation of $1 Coin.--
       ``(1) Acceptance by agencies and instrumentalities.--
     Beginning January 1, 2006, all agencies and instrumentalities 
     of the United States, the United States Postal Service, all 
     nonappropriated fund instrumentalities established under 
     title 10, United States Code, all transportation and transit 
     systems and entities that receive operational subsidies or 
     any disbursement of funds from the Federal Government, such 
     as funds from the Federal Highway Trust Fund, including the 
     Mass Transit Account, and all entities that operate any 
     business, including vending machines, on any premises owned 
     by the United States or under the control of any agency or

[[Page H11449]]

     instrumentality of the United States, including the 
     legislative and judicial branches of the Federal Government, 
     shall take such action as may be appropriate to ensure that 
     by the end of the 1-year period beginning on such date--
       ``(A) any business operations conducted by any such agency, 
     instrumentality, system, or entity that involve coins or 
     currency will be fully capable of accepting and dispensing $1 
     coins in connection with such operations; and
       ``(B) prominently displays signs and notices denoting such 
     capability on the premises where coins or currency are 
     accepted or dispensed, including on each vending machine.
       ``(2) Publicity.--The Director of the United States Mint, 
     shall work closely with consumer groups, media outlets, and 
     schools to ensure an adequate amount of news coverage, and 
     other means of increasing public awareness, of the 
     inauguration of the Presidential $1 Coin Program established 
     in subsection (n) to ensure that consumers know of the 
     availability of the coin.
       ``(3) Coordination.--The Board of Governors of the Federal 
     Reserve System and the Secretary shall take steps to ensure 
     that an adequate supply of $1 coins is available for commerce 
     and collectors at such places and in such quantities as are 
     appropriate by--
       ``(A) consulting, to accurately gauge demand for coins and 
     to anticipate and eliminate obstacles to the easy and 
     efficient distribution and circulation of $1 coins as well as 
     all other circulating coins, from time to time but no less 
     frequently than annually, with a coin users group, which may 
     include--
       ``(i) representatives of merchants who would benefit from 
     the increased usage of $1 coins;
       ``(ii) vending machine and other coin acceptor 
     manufacturers;
       ``(iii) vending machine owners and operators;
       ``(iv) transit officials;
       ``(v) municipal parking officials;
       ``(vi) depository institutions;
       ``(vii) coin and currency handlers;
       ``(viii) armored-car operators;
       ``(ix) car wash operators; and
       ``(x) coin collectors and dealers;
       ``(B) submitting an annual report to the Congress 
     containing--
       ``(i) an assessment of the remaining obstacles to the 
     efficient and timely circulation of coins, particularly $1 
     coins;
       ``(ii) an assessment of the extent to which the goals of 
     subparagraph (C) are being met; and
       ``(iii) such recommendations for legislative action the 
     Board and the Secretary may determine to be appropriate;
       ``(C) consulting with industry representatives to encourage 
     operators of vending machines and other automated coin-
     accepting devices in the United States to accept coins issued 
     under the Presidential $1 Coin Program established under 
     subsection (n) and any coins bearing any design in effect 
     before the issuance of coins required under subsection (n) 
     (including the so-called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins), and to 
     include notices on the machines and devices of such 
     acceptability;
       ``(D) ensuring that--
       ``(i) during an introductory period, all institutions that 
     want unmixed supplies of each newly-issued design of $1 coins 
     minted under subsections (n) and (o) are able to obtain such 
     unmixed supplies; and
       ``(ii) circulating coins will be available for ordinary 
     commerce in packaging of sizes and types appropriate for and 
     useful to ordinary commerce, including rolled coins;
       ``(E) working closely with any agency, instrumentality, 
     system, or entity referred to in paragraph (1) to facilitate 
     compliance with the requirements of such paragraph; and
       ``(F) identifying, analyzing, and overcoming barriers to 
     the robust circulation of $1 coins minted under subsections 
     (n) and (o), including the use of demand prediction, improved 
     methods of distribution and circulation, and improved public 
     education and awareness campaigns.
       ``(4) Bullion dealers.--The Director of the United States 
     Mint shall take all steps necessary to ensure that a maximum 
     number of reputable, reliable, and responsible dealers are 
     qualified to offer for sale all bullion coins struck and 
     issued by the United States Mint.
       ``(5) Review of co-circulation.--At such time as the 
     Secretary determines to be appropriate, and after 
     consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal 
     Reserve System, the Secretary shall notify the Congress of 
     its assessment of issues related to the co-circulation of any 
     circulating $1 coin bearing any design, other than the so-
     called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coin, in effect before the 
     issuance of coins required under subsection (n), including 
     the effect of co-circulation on the acceptance and use of $1 
     coins, and make recommendations to the Congress for improving 
     the circulation of $1 coins.''.

     SEC. 105. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the enactment of this Act will serve to increase the 
     use of $1 coins generally, which will increase the 
     circulation of the so-called ``Sacagawea-design'' $1 coins 
     that have been and will continue to be minted and issued;
       (2) the continued minting and issuance of the so-called 
     ``Sacagawea-design'' $1 coins will serve as a lasting tribute 
     to the role of women and Native Americans in the history of 
     the United States;
       (3) the full circulation potential and cost-savings benefit 
     projections for the $1 coins are not likely to be achieved 
     unless the coins are delivered in ways useful to ordinary 
     commerce;
       (4) the coins issued in connection with this title should 
     not be introduced with an overly expensive taxpayer-funded 
     public relations campaign;
       (5) in order for the circulation of $1 coins to achieve 
     maximum potential--
       (A) the coins should be as attractive as possible; and
       (B) the Director of the United States Mint should take all 
     reasonable steps to ensure that all $1 coins minted and 
     issued remain tarnish-free for as long as possible without 
     incurring undue expense; and
       (6) if the Secretary of the Treasury determines to include 
     on any $1 coin minted under section 102 of this Act a mark 
     denoting the United States Mint facility at which the coin 
     was struck, such mark should be edge-incused.

                  TITLE II--BUFFALO GOLD BULLION COINS

     SEC. 201. GOLD BULLION COINS.

       Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(11) A $20 gold coin that is of an appropriate size and 
     thickness, as determined by the Secretary, weighs 1 ounce, 
     and contains 99.99 percent pure gold.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end, the following:
       ``(q) Gold Bullion Coins.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date 
     of enactment of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, the 
     Secretary shall commence striking and issuing for sale such 
     number of $20 gold bullion coins as the Secretary may 
     determine to be appropriate, not to exceed 500,000 in any 
     year.
       ``(2) Initial design.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided under subparagraph 
     (B), the obverse and reverse of the gold bullion coins struck 
     under this subsection during the first year of issuance shall 
     bear the original designs by James Earle Fraser, which appear 
     on the 5-cent coin commonly referred to as the `Buffalo 
     nickel' or the `1913 Type 1'.
       ``(B) Variations.--The coins referred to in subparagraph 
     (A) shall--
       ``(i) have inscriptions of the weight of the coin and the 
     nominal denomination of the coin incused in that portion of 
     the design on the reverse of the coin commonly known as the 
     `grassy mound'; and
       ``(ii) bear such other inscriptions as the Secretary 
     determines to be appropriate.
       ``(3) Subsequent designs.--After the 1-year period 
     described to in paragraph (2), the Secretary may--
       ``(A) after consulting with the Commission of Fine Arts, 
     and subject to the review of the Citizens Coinage Advisory 
     Committee, change the design on the obverse or reverse of 
     gold bullion coins struck under this subsection; and
       ``(B) change the maximum number of coins issued in any 
     year.
       ``(4) Source of gold bullion.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall acquire gold for the 
     coins issued under this subsection by purchase of gold mined 
     from natural deposits in the United States, or in a territory 
     or possession of the United States, within 1 year after the 
     month in which the ore from which it is derived was mined.
       ``(B) Price of gold.--The Secretary shall pay not more than 
     the average world price for the gold mined under subparagraph 
     (A).
       ``(5) Sale of coins.--Each gold bullion coin issued under 
     this subsection shall be sold for an amount the Secretary 
     determines to be appropriate, but not less than the sum of--
       ``(A) the face value of the coins; and
       ``(B) the cost of designing and issuing the coins, 
     including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead 
     expenses, marketing, and shipping.
       ``(6) Legal tender.--The coins minted under this title 
     shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
       ``(7) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of 
     section 5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection 
     shall be considered to be numismatic items.''.

      TITLE III--ABRAHAM LINCOLN BICENTENNIAL 1-CENT COIN REDESIGN

     SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, was one of the 
     Nation's greatest leaders, demonstrating true courage during 
     the Civil War, one of the greatest crises in the Nation's 
     history.
       (2) Born of humble roots in Hardin County (present-day 
     LaRue County), Kentucky, on February 12, 1809, Abraham 
     Lincoln rose to the Presidency through a combination of 
     honesty, integrity, intelligence, and commitment to the 
     United States.
       (3) With the belief that all men are created equal, Abraham 
     Lincoln led the effort to free all slaves in the United 
     States.
       (4) Abraham Lincoln had a generous heart, with malice 
     toward none, and with charity for all.
       (5) Abraham Lincoln gave the ultimate sacrifice for the 
     country he loved, dying from an assassin's bullet on April 
     15, 1865.
       (6) All Americans could benefit from studying the life of 
     Abraham Lincoln, for Lincoln's life is a model for 
     accomplishing the ``American dream'' through honesty, 
     integrity, loyalty, and a lifetime of education.

[[Page H11450]]

       (7) The year 2009 will be the bicentennial anniversary of 
     the birth of Abraham Lincoln.
       (8) Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, grew to adulthood 
     in Indiana, achieved fame in Illinois, and led the nation in 
     Washington, D.C.
       (9) The so-called ``Lincoln cent'' was introduced in 1909 
     on the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, making the 
     obverse design the most enduring on the nation's coinage.
       (10) President Theodore Roosevelt was so impressed by the 
     talent of Victor David Brenner that the sculptor was chosen 
     to design the likeness of President Lincoln for the coin, 
     adapting a design from a plaque Brenner had prepared earlier.
       (11) In the nearly 100 years of production of the ``Lincoln 
     cent'', there have been only 2 designs on the reverse: the 
     original, featuring 2 wheat-heads in memorial style enclosing 
     mottoes, and the current representation of the Lincoln 
     Memorial in Washington, D.C.
       (12) On the occasion of the bicentennial of President 
     Lincoln's birth and the 100th anniversary of the production 
     of the Lincoln cent, it is entirely fitting to issue a series 
     of 1-cent coins with designs on the reverse that are 
     emblematic of the 4 major periods of President Lincoln's 
     life.

     SEC. 302. REDESIGN OF LINCOLN CENT FOR 2009.

       (a) In General.--During the year 2009, the Secretary of the 
     Treasury shall issue 1-cent coins in accordance with the 
     following design specifications:
       (1) Obverse.--The obverse of the 1-cent coin shall continue 
     to bear the Victor David Brenner likeness of President 
     Abraham Lincoln.
       (2) Reverse.--The reverse of the coins shall bear 4 
     different designs each representing a different aspect of the 
     life of Abraham Lincoln, such as--
       (A) his birth and early childhood in Kentucky;
       (B) his formative years in Indiana;
       (C) his professional life in Illinois; and
       (D) his presidency, in Washington, D.C.
       (b) Issuance of Redesigned Lincoln Cents in 2009.--
       (1) Order.--The 1-cent coins to which this section applies 
     shall be issued with 1 of the 4 designs referred to in 
     subsection (a)(2) beginning at the start of each calendar 
     quarter of 2009.
       (2) Number.--The Secretary shall prescribe, on the basis of 
     such factors as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, 
     the number of 1-cent coins that shall be issued with each of 
     the designs selected for each calendar quarter of 2009.
       (c) Design Selection.--The designs for the coins specified 
     in this section shall be chosen by the Secretary--
       (1) after consultation with the Abraham Lincoln 
     Bicentennial Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts; and
       (2) after review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 
     Committee.

     SEC. 303. REDESIGN OF REVERSE OF 1-CENT COINS AFTER 2009.

       The design on the reverse of the 1-cent coins issued after 
     December 31, 2009, shall bear an image emblematic of 
     President Lincoln's preservation of the United States of 
     America as a single and united country.

     SEC. 304. NUMISMATIC PENNIES WITH THE SAME METALLIC CONTENT 
                   AS THE 1909 PENNY.

       The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue 1-cent coins in 
     2009 with the exact metallic content as the 1-cent coin 
     contained in 1909 in such number as the Secretary determines 
     to be appropriate for numismatic purposes

     SEC. 305. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of the Congress that the original Victor 
     David Brenner design for the 1-cent coin was a dramatic 
     departure from previous American coinage that should be 
     reproduced, using the original form and relief of the 
     likeness of Abraham Lincoln, on the 1-cent coins issued in 
     2009.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. 
Maloney) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 1047, the Presidential $1 
Coin Act of 2005, and urge its immediate passage.
  Mr. Speaker, it is rare in this Chamber when we can vote for 
legislation that is good for business, good for consumers, good for 
children, good for parents and good for taxpayers all at the same time. 
Usually we must make our best judgments on how to balance those often 
competing interests. At this time, however, there are a lot of winners 
and no losers.
  The legislation we are considering, authored by the gentleman from 
Delaware, holds every chance of solving what has become a real problem 
in modern commerce, how to get a $1 coin circulating in the sections of 
the economy that would benefit from having one. We can all remember the 
old cartwheel silver dollars, or at least some of us can, that were 
great to have when we were kids, but which were too big and bulky to 
carry a pocketful, and we can all remember the Treasury's mistake in 
1979 when it went to replace the bigger dollars with one that many 
people thought was indistinguishable from the quarter.
  Mr. Speaker, we have all had the experience of trying to buy a fare 
card in the Metro system here in Washington and having the machine 
reject our worn dollar time after time or trying to buy something from 
a vending machine and having it jam with our paper money. That is an 
inconvenience to the consumer, but it is often a big loss to the 
operator of the vending machine, not just of that sale, but of all the 
others who cannot use the machine until it is repaired. Who actually 
pays for the losses in the end, of course, is the consumer.
  Mr. Speaker, doubtless a fully circulating dollar coin will not be as 
useful or popular in a rural community without public transit as it is 
in an urban environment. But in cities, it will be a big hit, and in 
any event, it is the obligation of Congress to provide for the 
production of coins and currency that allows businesses to operate 
efficiently.
  So the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), who is the author of the 
50 State quarter program, a most successful program, and I applaud the 
gentleman for his leadership and vision. He has come up, again, with an 
ingenuous solution. Having seen the demand for quarters skyrocket as 
soon as those coins started changing their design every couple of 
months, he has designed a program that will do the same for the dollar 
coin, creating a gimmick, and I don't know whether I wanted to call it 
a gimmick, but that is what it says right here, that will draw the 
coins into circulation because of collector demand instead of trying to 
push the coins out into circulation as the Mint famously and 
unsuccessfully tried to do in 2000.
  Other aspects of the bill, a gold First Spouse coin, a solid gold 
investor grade coin with a buffalo nickel design and a set of four new 
penny reverses in 2009 for the 200th anniversary of the birth of 
Abraham Lincoln, are also good ideas in that regard.
  I would also like to make two points. One is that since this idea was 
that of the gentleman from Delaware, rightfully, the bill we pass ought 
to bear the number H.R. 902 that he introduced with the gentlewoman 
from New York and which passed the House 422-6. I chalk the fact that 
this bill bears a Senate number up to the procedural problem as the 
Senate rushed to pass the legislation before the Thanksgiving recess, 
but it is still unfortunate. Make no mistake about it, this legislation 
came about because of Mike Castle and Carolyn Maloney, and I want to 
thank both of them for their efforts.
  Much more serious is a provision in the Senate bill that was not in 
the House bill and which will, in my estimation, cause some problems as 
the Presidential dollar program goes forward, a requirement that a 
third of all the dollar coins issued during the life of the 
Presidential dollar program bear the Sakakawea design. Mr. Castle and 
Mrs. Maloney struck a good commonsense agreement with Mr. Pomeroy over 
the House version of this bill that would have continued minting 
Sakakawea design coins to meet demand throughout the life of the 
Presidential dollar and then return to full production of that design 
after the Presidential program is finished and the dollar coin 
establishes a useful and well-circulating medium of exchange.
  Mr. Speaker, although not the fault of the design of Sakakawea 
herself, there will not be the same demand for the Sakakawea coins as 
for the Presidents, because there will be no real change in the design 
of the coin from year to year. The problem, of course, is that if the 
coins are struck but there is no demand, they will need to be stored 
somewhere at some cost to the government. I will introduce into the 
Record a letter to that effect from the Federal Reserve.
  Mr. Castle and other supporters of this legislation have signaled 
their intent to revisit this provision in the upcoming session to try 
to find a way to stimulate demand for the Sakakawea design, and I 
pledge to work with them in that effort.
  With those reservations, Mr. Speaker, this is fine legislation. It 
will benefit businesses, consumers, have great educational value and 
actually probably make the government a good deal

[[Page H11451]]

of money as collectors take some of the dollars out of circulation. I 
urge its immediate passage.
                                             Board of Governors of


                                   the Federal Reserve System,

                                 Washington, DC, December 5, 2005.
     Hon. Michael G. Oxley,
     Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to provide you with 
     information and perspective on H.R. 902 and S. 1047, the 
     House- and Senate-passed versions of the ``Presidential $1 
     Coin Act of 2005,'' particularly as these bills would affect 
     the Federal Reserve Banks. These bills are intended, in part, 
     to increase the circulation of $1 coins. Prior to House 
     passage, I provided comments on H.R. 902 in a letter dated 
     March 15, 2005, and my colleague, Federal Reserve Board 
     Governor Mark Olson, provided comments on a similar bill in 
     an earlier letter dated August 31, 2004. Federal Reserve 
     Board staff also briefed House and Senate staff on similar 
     issues. I appreciate that the bills passed by the House and 
     Senate address several of the comments that were raised in 
     the previous letters and briefings; however, we continue to 
     have concerns about several aspects of the proposed bills.
       Both bills require the issuance of four new Presidential $1 
     coins each year. as well as the continued issuance of the 
     Sacagawea $1 coin. Although both bills provide the Secretary 
     of the Treasury with discretion to determine the appropriate 
     number of Presidential $1 coins per design to issue each 
     year, the Senate bill requires (and the House bill suggests) 
     that the Secretary and the Board ensure that unmixed supplies 
     of each newly-issued $1 coin be available to all institutions 
     that want them during an introductory period. The experience 
     of the Reserve Banks with regard to the state quarter and 
     golden dollar programs has been that the commemorative coin 
     designs increase Reserve Banks' inventories well beyond 
     levels that they would otherwise hold and increase operating 
     costs associated with coin inventory management. The public 
     initially tends to demand a large number of coins for 
     numismatic purposes, but eventually many of those coins are 
     returned to the Reserve Banks. This results in the 
     accumulation of excessive inventories. Assuming that the flow 
     back of excess Presidential $1 coins to the Reserve Banks is 
     consistent with that of earlier commemorative coin designs, 
     we estimate the net present value of the cost associated with 
     storing excess Presidential $1 coins to be approximately $45 
     million over the life of the program. As we have previously 
     suggested, slowing the rate at which new coin designs are 
     introduced would help reduce these costs.
       The Senate-passed bill would exacerbate the Reserve Banks' 
     inventory challenges, compared to the House-passed bill, by 
     requiring the minting and issuance of Sacagawea $1 coins ``in 
     quantities no less than 1/3 of the total $1 coins minted and 
     issued'' under the Presidential $1 coin program. Establishing 
     such a relative quota for Sacagawea coins, irrespective of 
     the actual public demand for that specific coin design, would 
     likely further increase the amount of excess coin held at the 
     Reserve Banks. Federal Reserve Board staff estimates that the 
     Sacagawea coin quota would further increase the cost 
     associated with storing excess dollar coins by as much as 
     one-third, or $15 million, to an estimated net present value 
     of approximately $60 million over the life of the program. We 
     would expect the Mint to continue to produce Sacagawea coins, 
     and the Reserve Banks to put Sacagawea coins into circulation 
     as needed, and we recommend that the final bill not include a 
     specific requirement that a fixed fraction of new $1 coin 
     production be dedicated to the Sacagawea design.
       It has proven very difficult over time to stimulate public 
     demand for the $1 coin. As you may know, the Government 
     Accountability Office (GAO) has reported several times on a 
     number of barriers to the effective circulation of $1 coins, 
     including the U.S. public's continued preference for $1 
     notes. As a result, we urge that the final legislation be 
     flexible enough to address the possibility of continued low 
     public demand for the $1 coin and the potential implications 
     of slow growth in usage for the costs incurred by the Mint 
     and the Federal Reserve.
       On another issue, the House-passed bill provides a sense of 
     the Congress that at such time as the Secretary of Treasury 
     determines to be appropriate, and after consultation with the 
     Federal Reserve, the Secretary should declare the Susan B. 
     Anthony $1 coin to be obsolete. Neither existing law nor the 
     bill defines the word ``obsolete.'' We continue to be 
     concerned that the public might interpret such language as 
     withdrawing the legal tender status of the coin. Further, if 
     ``obsolete'' means that Susan B. Anthony coins would remain 
     legal tender but that the Treasury and Federal Reserve should 
     remove the coins from circulation, this would likely impose 
     significant operational costs that would also reduce the 
     potential value to the government of the proposed $1 coin 
     program. For example, currently available equipment does not 
     enable the Federal Reserve to sort the different $1 coins 
     according to their designs in order to remove some designs 
     from circulation. Therefore. we continue to believe that it 
     would be prudent not to include language in the bill 
     suggesting that the Susan B. Anthony coin will be withdrawn 
     from circulation or declared obsolete.
       We hope these thoughts help clarify some of the remaining 
     technical issues with the two bills. As the House and Senate 
     work to resolve the differences between the bills, we ask 
     that you take into consideration the concerns outlined in 
     this letter.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Donald L. Kohn,
                                              Member of the Board.

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that the House is taking up this bill 
that Congressman Castle and I initiated, and I truly believe it is a 
win-win for taxpayers and the economy, the Presidential $1 Coin Bill.
  As we recall, the House passed our version of this bill by an 
overwhelming bipartisan majority last April, and the Senate has now 
done the same with its version and sent it back here for final passage.
  As our earlier vote reflects, this is an idea that we can all agree 
on. The Presidential dollar coin will begin in January of 2007 with the 
issuance of the George Washington dollar and continue at the rate of 
four Presidents a year until all Presidents who have completed their 
term of office have been honored, including President Bush and at least 
one successor.
  The back of the coin has the Statue of Liberty, which is located in 
the harbor of the city I represent. It is recognized throughout the 
world as the image of the United States and the symbol of freedom and 
opportunity.
  I am particularly pleased and thankful for discussions with 
Representative Pomeroy from North Dakota, Indian tribal chiefs and 
women's groups, on the provisions of the bill relating to the Sakakawea 
dollar coin that have been clarified, really strengthened, to make sure 
that Sakakawea will continue to be honored on the dollar throughout the 
program and after the program is complete. This is also true in the 
Senate version which we are voting on today.
  This initiative builds on the remarkable success also led by my dear 
friend and colleague Congressman Castle of our 50 State quarter bill. 
Like the State quarters, the Presidential dollar coin will revive 
interest in and encourage use of the dollar coin, educate the public 
about our Presidents and their first ladies and make money for the 
taxpayers. After 5 years at the halfway point, the 50 State quarter 
program had made $4 billion for the United States Treasury, primarily 
from collectors taking the coins out of circulation so that the Federal 
Reserve then buys more from the Mint.
  Over 130 million Americans, including children, adults and 
collectors, are collecting the quarters. I know from firsthand 
experience. My daughter is one of these collectors, and she has 
collected every single quarter, has books on them; her friends collect 
them. Teachers have told me that they use the quarter in their 
classrooms for educational purposes, and I believe that the 
Presidential dollar bill will likewise be used as an educational tool 
for collectors and for school children. We have similar hopes for the 
effect of the individuals collecting the Presidential dollar coins for 
them to be useful in the classroom and helpful to the Treasury.
  In addition, this bill will revive interest in and encourage use of 
the dollar coin. The GAO has estimated that general use of dollar coins 
could save the government as much as $50 million per year because they 
last longer than the dollar bill.
  I have received correspondence from small businesses, who are 
delighted that the bill will boost usage of the dollar coin in everyday 
commerce. As dollar coins achieve greater use in meters, fare machines, 
coin operated laundromats or car washes, these businesses will benefit 
and consumers will get faster and more efficient service.
  We have done a great deal of research to make sure that this coin is 
successful. In the course of developing this bill, Congressman Castle 
reached out to the National Federation for the Blind to ask for the 
perspective of persons with visual impairments whom we might expect to 
have the most concern over problems with usage of a dollar coin and 
specifically with distinguishing it from a quarter. The NFB responded 
that so long as the edge of the coin was distinctive, persons with 
visual impairments would not have a problem, and we have accommodated 
that need. The legislation also leaves a great deal of flexibility to 
the Mint to

[[Page H11452]]

design the coins in such a way that they will be sufficiently 
distinctive, and we have made the Mint aware of this imperative.
  I am also proud of the bill's provision for also honoring each first 
spouse. The bill provides for these to be issued both as gold bullion 
collectors items and also in a bronze version, making them more 
accessible to school children and the public.
  This bill earns money for the government, benefits small businesses 
and consumers, educates all users of American currency about their 
Presidents and revitalizes interest in the dollar coin. I would call 
that a bill that clearly deserves our full support.
  I would like to thank Congressman Castle for his initiative and 
steady work on this bill, a bill that should be supported easily by 
everyone. The fact is that it makes money for the Treasury, educates 
people and helps our economy, but we had many, many hurdles that we had 
to jump over, and his thoughtful and persistent work was absolutely 
critical for its success.
  I also thank my good friend Representative Pomeroy for helping to 
make this a bill that continues to honor Sakakawea, both during the 
time that it is being minted and afterwards; and also our ranking 
member, Mr. Frank, for helping us to move this to the floor for a vote.
  Of course, Congressman Oxley, we will miss you and miss your 
leadership in this body.
  I would also like to thank Joe Pinder and Emily Pfeiffer on the 
majority staff of the Financial Services Committee for their assistance 
throughout this process.
  And I would finally like to thank Jaime Lizarraga of the minority 
Financial Services Committee and Eleni Constantine for their work on 
it.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support it. It is not 
often that we have an opportunity to vote on something that will 
educate adults and children about our history, put money into the 
Treasury, save taxpayers money, help small business, and it is just 
plain fun to collect. So I am thoroughly in support of it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased now to yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), the First State, who has been a 
real leader in this effort and shown a great deal of foresight.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be able to speak to this bill. Let me 
just start by thanking you, Mr. Chairman, for expediting this. 
Sometimes it is not that easy to move along even good legislation. I 
also wish to thank the ranking member, Mr. Frank, who is on the floor, 
for his acceptance of this as well.
  I cannot thank Carolyn Maloney enough for her exceptional work. You 
have to get a lot of signatures on these bills. You have to talk to a 
lot of people. We had a lot of negotiations with respect to some of the 
changes from Sakakawea to what we are trying to do, and I just cannot 
thank her enough for her constant support of it. I would bet we talked 
about this about 100 times in the course of the last couple years, if I 
had to guess.
  I wish it were our bill and not the Senate version of our bill, 
though, but that is the way things go sometimes. We will still enjoy 
it.
  I would also like to thank particularly Joe Pinder, who knows more 
about coins probably than anybody in the United States of America, as 
far as I can ascertain. He talked to me first about the other quarter 
bill, which I did not think was a particularly sound idea at the time. 
This was some 10 years ago now, I think. He talked to me about it 
again. Then he told me Delaware would be first because it was the first 
State to ratify the Constitution, and then he pointed out it would 
actually make some money for the Federal Government. By that time, I 
became convinced after several months of this, and we actually had to 
convince Secretary Rubin and Deputy Secretary Summers at that time. 
They thought the same thing I did; it was not a great idea. It turned 
out to be a very significant and good idea, as we all know now, for all 
the reasons that Mrs. Maloney and the chairman spoke about, educating a 
lot of people, and it has been a wonderfully fun program.
  What a lot of people do not realize is these programs make money. 
That particular program has made $5 billion, billion with a ``B'' for 
the Federal Government so far, on its way to probably $8 billion to $10 
billion before it is all said and done. It is a complicated process 
called seniorage, but essentially, they make the coins for 4 or 5 
cents, and they sell them for 25 cents, obviously, when the public buys 
them from the Federal Reserve. And that amount of money, if the coins 
are not reclaimed, which they are not in the collectors' case, is money 
that we can use instead of having to appropriate money.
  It is also estimated, I should point out, that this particular 
program which has multiple higher numbers, although there will be fewer 
coins distributed, we hope will make in the range of $4 to $5 billion 
as well. So we are talking about something which has a lot of benefit.
  I would also like to thank Emily Pfeiffer, who started on my staff 
and now works for the committee. The committee, which has all this 
money and can pay higher salaries, I guess is what it is all about, 
took her away, but she has done some wonderful work on this as well.

                              {time}  1545

  This bill is unique. It has on the side edge incusing, which means on 
the side of the coin you are going to have what we have above you, Mr. 
Speaker: In God We Trust and E Pluribus Unum will be on there. It will 
be gold in color, and it will represent the various Presidents who 
served our country. It is going to be tremendously educational. There 
will be a First Lady coin; there will be gold bullion editions of these 
particular coins for collectors. We think it actually may help bring 
the dollar coin back into commerce. I see the gentleman from North 
Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) on the floor, and a lot of our negotiations were 
with him and he was very concerned about the continuation of the 
recognition of Sakakawea. My hope is, frankly, this is going to add to 
that, because it is actually going to get the coins distributed when we 
revert to that program, and sometime later it will add to it as well.
  I must say that I am concerned about what Senator Dorgan did put into 
the bill, because I prefer what we worked out in the House as a better 
solution to this, and that is an edition of the third of the coins now 
still to be Sakakawea, and I am afraid they are going to sit and 
collect dust and not be distributed.
  At this point I would rather have done this differently. But we are 
working on that, and hopefully we will have a better solution to 
recognize the great American Indians and what they have done for us in 
this country before we are all said and done, even while this program 
is going on. I think there are perhaps better solutions than what the 
Senate actually did, but that is something we are not going to do 
unless we all agree. So I think we should pass this legislation, which 
is very good legislation; and if we can make it even better, we should 
come back and try to do that at some point in the future. We will 
continue to work on that.
  These coins, the quarters I am referring to now, have been highly 
successful because of the children's involvement. It is my hope that 
the children are going to go into the store and ask for dollar coins in 
change. We think that is very significant in terms of what they might 
do and in terms of the circulation in the commerce. Four of these will 
be issued per year, that will be plenty, to make everybody start 
looking forward to them. Once they collected the one before, they will 
collect the other one. They will be coined at the Philadelphia and 
Denver Mints, so they will have the P and the D on them, and people 
might wish to collect both of them, as a matter of fact.
  As a matter of fact, even the National Education Association has sent 
a letter in support of this bill. It is true, you do not find many 
bills here in which we actually make money which are educational, which 
are fun, which are well received by everybody; and that is essentially 
what this bill does. So I would just like to thank everybody who was 
involved and urge passage of the legislation hopefully unanimously in 
the House.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr.

[[Page H11453]]

Pomeroy), who was instrumental in the passage of this bill. We thank 
him for his leadership.
  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be able to participate in 
this discussion. I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I also 
thank the gentlewoman for struggling with the Hidatsa pronunciation of 
Sakakawea, when most across the Nation learned the Shoshone 
pronunciation Sacajawea. I think the sensitivity you showed to our 
feelings that it is the Hidatsa pronunciation that ought to be 
applicable is really representative of the kind of sensitivity you have 
shown to our concerns throughout this entire matter.
  As far as that goes, I want to really commend my colleague from 
Delaware, Mike Castle. I commend also the ranking member, Barney Frank, 
for taking what was clearly set up to be a win-lose proposition, with 
the losers being those who really are proud of the Sakakawea coin, a 
coin representing the first Native American woman ever to grace a 
United States coin, a coin that we think also reflects honor and 
celebration of the bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark Expedition which 
opened up the north and west, and so we felt very strongly that the 
Mint had made the right decision moving the dollar coin forward with 
Sakakawea, and we were concerned about this coming to an end.
  As we worked this through, this win-lose proposition became something 
that I now view much more favorably as a win-win proposition. I think 
the gentleman from Delaware has it right when he says that the 
introduction of the Presidents may spark a whole new interest in the 
dollar coin itself; and working together, we have been able to ensure 
that Sakakawea will continue to be on part of those coins.
  As to in the end what is a right percentage or should there be a 
directed percentage, all I would say is we have worked in the end well 
on this matter, and I will pledge my commitment to continuing to work 
to make sure that this achieves the ends we all want: a dollar coin 
more popularly accepted; recognition of our Presidents; a popular 
collector's item for school children; and continued prominence of the 
Sakakawea coin in circulation in this country.
  I think that in the end this has been for me a very satisfying 
legislative experience, and I commend the principals for making it so. 
Certainly, I think that you could have pursued this another way; and 
really, gosh, if we could do this more often around here on other 
issues, I think we would get a lot more done.
  I also want to take the opportunity at the podium just to recognize 
Chairman Oxley. As someone with a former background as an insurance 
commissioner, I have a deep interest in the matters of the Financial 
Services Committee, and the chairman's serving as the first chairman of 
this new committee with its broader reach of jurisdiction than the old 
banking committee, I think you have set a very high bar of leadership 
and integrity and fair-mindedness, and we have enjoyed your service in 
that regard. I look forward to working with you next year as you 
continue to serve out your chairmanship.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I again want to reiterate my support and 
thanks to the leadership of the gentleman from North Dakota and thanks 
for his cooperation. The gentlewoman from New York's negotiating skills 
got the Statue of Liberty on the coin. That is pretty impressive. And 
the gentleman from the First State has been a real leader in this for a 
long time. In the great tradition of our committee, we look forward to 
strong bipartisan support.
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1047. I have 
the privilege of representing the West Point Mint, the home of our 
nation's bullion coin programs. Since 1986 the mint and its employees 
have produced the American Eagle series of silver, gold, and platinum 
bullion coins with unmatched skill and quality. Each of the tens of 
millions of American Eagle bullion coins that has been sold is an 
investment in America, a savings for taxpayers, and a vote of 
confidence in the workmanship of the West Point Mint.
  S. 1047 builds on that legacy by authorizing two new bullion 
programs, an American Presidential Spouse 24 karat gold bullion coin 
and an American Buffalo $50 gold bullion coin. Passage of this bill 
into law will ensure that the West Point Mint remains at the center of 
American and global bullion coin production for years to come. I urge 
the members of the House to join me in passing this bill.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boozman). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1047.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

                          ____________________