[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 48 (Thursday, March 19, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3564-S3565]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Ms. Mikulski):
  S. 653. A bill to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 
in commemoration of the bicentennial of the writing of the Star-
Spangled Banner, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Star-
Spangled Banner Commemorative Coin Act. I am pleased that my colleague, 
the senior Senator from Maryland, is a co-sponsor. This legislation 
will honor our National Anthem and the Battle for Baltimore, which was 
a key turning point of the War of 1812, by creating two commemorative 
U.S. Mint coins.
  The War of 1812 confirmed American independence from Great Britain in 
the eyes of the world. Before the war, the British had been routinely 
imposing on American sovereignty. They had impressed American merchant 
seamen into the British Royal Navy, enforced illegal and unfair trade 
rules with the United States, and allegedly offered assistance to 
American Indian tribes which were attacking frontier settlements. In 
response, the United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 
1812, to protest these violations of ``free trade and sailors rights''.
  After 2 \1/2\ years of conflict, the British Royal Navy sailed up the 
Chesapeake Bay with combined military and naval forces, and in August 
1814 attacked Washington, DC, burning to the ground the U.S. Capitol, 
the White House, and much of the rest of the capital city. After 
finishing with Washington, DC, the British moved to capture Baltimore, 
which in 1814 was a larger city.
  As the British Royal Navy sailed up the Patapsco River on its way to 
Baltimore, American forces held the British fleet at Fort McHenry, 
located just outside of the city. After 25 hours of bombardment, the 
British failed to take the Fort and were forced to depart. American 
lawyer Francis Scott Key, who was being held on board an American flag-
of-truce vessel, beheld at dawn's early light an American flag still 
flying atop Fort McHenry. He immortalized the event in a song which 
later became known as the Star-Spangled Banner.
  The flag to which Key referred was a 30' x 42' foot flag made 
specifically for Fort McHenry. The commanding officer desired a flag so 
large that the British would have no trouble seeing it from a distance. 
This proved to be the case as Key visited the British fleet on 
September 7, 1814, to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes. Dr. 
Beanes was released, but Key and Beanes were detained on an American 
flag-of-truce vessel until the end of the bombardment. It was on 
September 14, 1814, that Key saw the great banner that inspired him to 
write the song that ultimately became our National Anthem.
  The Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coins will honor this symbol 
of our nation and our National Anthem. Under this Act, the U.S. 
Treasury would mint up to 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver 
coins in 2012, in coordination with the 200th Anniversary of the War of 
1812. Proceeds from surcharges for the coins will be paid to the 
Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, for bicentennial 
activities, educational outreach, and preservation and improvement 
activities pertaining to the sites and structures relating to the War 
of 1812. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this measure 
in a fitting tribute to a seminal chapter in American history.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 653

       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 ``Star-Spangled Banner 
     Commemorative Coin Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds as follows:
       (1) During the Battle for Baltimore of the War of 1812, 
     Francis Scott Key visited the British fleet in the Chesapeake 
     Bay on September 7, 1814, to secure the release of Dr. 
     William Beanes, who had been captured after the British 
     burned Washington, D.C.
       (2) The release of Dr. Beanes was secured, but Key and 
     Beanes were held by the British during the shelling of Fort 
     McHenry, one of the forts defending Baltimore.
       (3) On the morning of September 14, 1814, after the 25-hour 
     British bombardment of Fort McHenry, Key peered through the 
     clearing smoke to see a 42-foot by 30-foot American flag 
     flying proudly atop the Fort.
       (4) He was so inspired to see the enormous flag still 
     flying over the Fort that he began penning a song, which he 
     named The Defence of Fort McHenry, to commemorate the 
     occasion and he included a note that it should be sung to the 
     tune of the popular British melody To Anacreon in Heaven.
       (5) In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that the 
     anthem, which had been popularly renamed the Star-Spangled 
     Banner, be played at military and naval occasions.
       (6) On March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a 
     resolution of Congress that officially designated the Star-
     Spangled Banner as the National Anthem of the United States.

     SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

       (a) $1 Silver Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
     (hereafter in this Act referred to as

[[Page S3565]]

     the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the following coins 
     in commemoration of the bicentennial of the writing of the 
     Star-Spangled Banner:
       (1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 100,000 $5 coins, which 
     shall--
       (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
       (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
       (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
       (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 500,000 $1 coins, which 
     shall--
       (A) weigh 26.73 grams;
       (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
       (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.
       (b) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be 
     legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United 
     States Code.
       (c) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 
     5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under 
     this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

     SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

       (a) Design Requirements.--
       (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
     Act shall be emblematic of the War of 1812 and particularly 
     the Battle for Baltimore that formed the basis for the Star-
     Spangled Banner.
       (2) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin minted 
     under this Act, there shall be--
       (A) a designation of the value of the coin;
       (B) an inscription of the year ``2012''; and
       (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We 
     Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E Pluribus 
     Unum''.
       (b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this 
     Act shall be--
       (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the 
     Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission and the 
     Commission of Fine Arts; and
       (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

     SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

       (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be 
     issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.
       (b) Mint Facility.--Only one facility of the United States 
     Mint may be used to strike any particular quality of the 
     coins minted under this Act.
       (c) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins 
     under this Act only during the calendar year beginning on 
     January 1, 2012.

     SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

       (a) Sale Price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be 
     sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
       (1) the face value of the coins;
       (2) the surcharge provided in section 7 with respect to 
     such coins; and
       (3) 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 Act at a reasonable discount.
       (c) Prepaid Orders.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders 
     for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of 
     such coins.
       (2) Discount.--Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders 
     under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.

     SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

       (a) In General.--All sales of coins issued under this Act 
     shall include a surcharge of--
       (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; and
       (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
       (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, 
     United States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary 
     from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be paid to 
     the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission for the 
     purpose of supporting bicentennial activities, educational 
     outreach activities (including supporting scholarly research 
     and the development of exhibits), and preservation and 
     improvement activities pertaining to the sites and structures 
     relating to the War of 1812.
       (c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall have the right to examine such books, records, 
     documents, and other data of the Maryland War of 1812 
     Bicentennial Commission as may be related to the expenditures 
     of amounts paid under subsection (b).
       (d) Limitation.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), no 
     surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance under 
     this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as of the 
     time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin would result 
     in the number of commemorative coin programs issued during 
     such year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative coin program 
     issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, 
     United States Code (as in effect on the date of the enactment 
     of this Act). The Secretary of the Treasury may issue 
     guidance to carry out this subsection.
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