[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 5, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H3152-H3153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MOTHER'S DAY CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE COIN ACT

  Mr. MEEKS of New York. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 2421) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to 
mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of 
Mother's Day, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2421

       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 ``Mother's Day Centennial 
     Commemorative Coin Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress hereby finds as follows:
       (1) Anna Jarvis, who is considered to be the founder of the 
     modern Mother's Day, was born in Webster, West Virginia on 
     May 1, 1864.
       (2) A resident of Grafton, West Virginia, Anna Jarvis 
     dedicated much of her adult life to honoring her mother, Anna 
     Reeves Jarvis, who passed on May 9, 1905.
       (3) In 1908, the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church of 
     Grafton, West Virginia, officially proclaimed the third 
     anniversary of Anna Reeves Jarvis' death to be Mother's Day.
       (4) In 1910, West Virginia Governor, William Glasscock, 
     issued the first Mother's Day Proclamation encouraging all 
     West Virginians to attend church and wear white carnations.
       (5) On May 8, 1914, the Sixty-Third Congress approved H.J. 
     Res. 263 designating the second Sunday in May to be observed 
     as Mother's Day and encouraging all Americans to display the 
     American flag at their homes as a public expression of the 
     love and reverence for the mothers of our Nation.
       (6) On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a 
     Presidential Proclamation directing government officials to 
     display the American flag on all government buildings and 
     inviting the American people to display the flag at their 
     homes on the second Sunday of May as a public expression of 
     the love and reverence for the mothers of our nation.

     SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

       (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
     (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') 
     shall mint and issue not more than 400,000 $1 coins each of 
     which shall--
       (1) weigh 26.73 grams;
       (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
       (3) 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 section 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.--The design of the coins minted 
     under this Act shall be emblematic of the 100th anniversary 
     of President Wilson's proclamation designating the second 
     Sunday in May as Mother's Day.
       (b) Designation and Inscriptions.--On each coin minted 
     under this Act there shall be--
       (1) a designation of the value of the coin;
       (2) an inscription of the year ``2014''; and
       (3) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We 
     Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E Pluribus 
     Unum''.
       (c) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this 
     Act shall be--
       (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the 
     Commission of Fine Arts; and
       (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee 
     established under section 5135 of title 31, United States 
     Code.

     SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

       (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be 
     issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.
       (b) Commencement of Issuance.--The Secretary may issue 
     coins minted under this Act beginning January 1, 2014, except 
     that the Secretary may initiate sales of such coins, without 
     issuance, before such date.
       (c) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins shall be 
     minted under this Act after December 31, 2014.

     SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

       (a) Sale Price.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the coins issued under this Act shall be sold by the 
     Secretary at a price equal to the sum of the face value of 
     the coins, the surcharge required under section 7(a) for the 
     coins, and the cost of designing and issuing such coins 
     (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead 
     expenses, and marketing).
       (b) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the 
     coins issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
       (c) Prepaid Orders at a Discount.--
       (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) Surcharge Required.--All sales shall include a 
     surcharge of $10 per coin.
       (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, 
     United States Code, all surcharges which are received by the 
     Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall 
     be promptly paid by the Secretary as follows:
       (1) \1/2\ to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure for the 
     purpose of furthering research funded by the organization.
       (2) \1/2\ to the National Osteoporosis Foundation for the 
     purpose of furthering research funded by the Foundation.
       (c) Audits.--The Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the 
     National Osteoporosis Foundation shall be subject to the 
     audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United 
     States Code, with regard to the amounts received by the 
     respective organizations 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.

     SEC. 8. BUDGET COMPLIANCE.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of 
     Representatives, provided that such statement has been 
     submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Meeks) and the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MEEKS of New York. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous 
material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MEEKS of New York. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, on Sunday, we will be celebrating Mother's Day. On May 
9, 2014, we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 
declaration by President Wilson of having Mother's Day celebrated on 
the second Sunday in May.
  I speak in strong support of the bill on which Mrs. Capito also 
worked and drafted and for which she fought so hard to have a 
commemorative coin made for that day in honor of Mother's Day.
  As you know, Anna Jarvis, who is considered to be the founder of the 
modern Mother's Day, was born in Webster, West Virginia, on May 1, 
1864. She loved her mother so much that, when her mother passed, the 
Governor of West Virginia and others came around and said, What a great 
idea it is to celebrate mothers.
  I don't know of a person in this House or in this Nation who does not 
appreciate the value of their mothers and the greatness that Mother's 
Day represents as it brings us together to celebrate mothers.
  What a brilliant idea 100 years ago by the President, in following 
the lead of West Virginia, to determine that we are going to have this 
day of celebration for mothers. What better thing for us to do than to 
have a commemorative coin established, which would also raise money for 
two very important organizations.
  One half of the profits, which would be received from the surcharge 
of $10 per coin, would benefit women's causes, including the Susan G. 
Komen for the Cure. This would further research funded by the 
organization. The other half of the profits would go to the National 
Osteoporosis Foundation for the purpose of further research funded by 
that foundation.
  So, Madam Speaker, I stand here today in strong support of the 
passage

[[Page H3153]]

of the commemorative coin to celebrate the 100th anniversary, the 
centennial, of Mother's Day as declared by President Wilson.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPITO. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank the gentleman from New York, not only for his support 
of this bill but also for his eloquent statement in support, not just 
of the coin but of mothers in general. I want to thank him for yielding 
time to me.
  Madam Speaker, as he said, this Sunday, families across the Nation 
will gather to honor their mothers and grandmothers. By the way, I am a 
new grandmother. I had to put that in. They will show their gratitude 
for the contributions these women have made not only to their immediate 
families but also to their communities at large. The tradition of 
honoring our mothers on the second Sunday in May goes back almost a 
century. It is a very interesting and quite simple history.
  The tradition of Mother's Day began in the mountains of Appalachia, 
when a woman named Anna Jarvis sought a more formal way to honor her 
mother. Her mother's name was Anna Reeves Jarvis, who had passed away 
in 1905. Ms. Jarvis, a native of Webster County in the wilds of West 
Virginia, began working with the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church of 
Grafton, West Virginia, to honor her mother and her mother's 
contributions to the community.
  In 1908, the church officially proclaimed the third anniversary of 
Anna Reeves Jarvis' passing to be Mother's Day, but Anna Jarvis was not 
to be deterred. She continued her efforts to honor mothers across the 
State of West Virginia. In 1910, she was successful in lobbying and in 
encouraging the Governor of West Virginia to issue the first Mother's 
Day proclamation, encouraging all West Virginians to attend church and 
to wear white carnations in honor of their mothers.

                              {time}  1230

  Ms. Jarvis built upon her success at home and began a nationwide 
effort to have Federal recognition of Mother's Day. After 4 years of 
hard work and dedication, President Woodrow Wilson issued a 
presidential proclamation in 1914 encouraging all Americans to fly the 
American flag at their homes on the second Sunday of May as a public 
expression of the love and reverence for mothers of our Nation.
  West Virginians, we are very proud of our heritage and of the role 
that our State played in the creation and founding of Mother's Day.
  Last year I introduced this underlying legislation, which calls for 
the minting of a commemorative coin in 2014 to honor the centennial of 
proclaiming and designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. 
This coin will be minted in 2014, and as the gentleman from New York 
expressed, the proceeds of the sales of the coin will go to the Susan 
G. Komen Foundation and also to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. I 
wanted to pick foundations that I knew were dedicated to women's health 
so that the money will be used for research and development to help the 
mothers of the future cope with the tragic consequences of osteoporosis 
or cancer.
  As an aside, I would like to wish my mother, Shelley Riley Moore, a 
very happy and wonderful Mother's Day this Sunday. She has been a very 
special person in my life and in the life of my entire family. And 
while that's a personal aside, I know we all feel the same way about 
our mothers, and taking the time to tell them. I would encourage 
everyone to do that.
  I would like to thank the 291 Members of the House who have joined me 
in this effort allowing the bill to be considered today. I would 
encourage the passage of this bill, and again I would encourage the 
recognition of the place that the mothers of America and really across 
the world play in the lives of all of us here today.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS of New York. Let me again thank the gentlewoman from West 
Virginia for her hard work on bringing this bill.
  I think there's no more appropriate thing to do than to celebrate 
mothers, as we will this Sunday, and celebrate the 100th anniversary of 
Mother's Day, as we will in 2014, as well as raising money for those 
causes that will help women.
  Let me likewise just say that I would not be standing here today in 
the well of the House of Representatives if it wasn't for many lessons 
that were taught to me by my mother. And though she is no longer with 
us, there is not a day that goes by that she is not in my thoughts and 
in my heart and I don't hear her.
  In closing, I must say on a personal note that I must give a special 
thanks to my wife and what she does on a daily basis mothering our 
children.

                                         House of Representatives,


                                  Committee on Ways and Means,

                                   Washington, DC, April 29, 2010.
     Hon. Barney Frank,
     Chairman, Financial Services Committee, Rayburn House Office 
         Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Frank: I am writing regarding H.R. 2421, the 
     Mother's Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act.
       As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains 
     jurisdiction over bills that raise revenue. H.R. 2421 
     contains a provision that establishes a surcharge for the 
     sale of commemorative coins that are minted under the bill, 
     and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on 
     Ways and Means.
       However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding 
     commemorative coin bills and in order to expedite this bill 
     for Floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action. 
     This is being done with the understanding that it does not in 
     any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the 
     appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives 
     on this bill or similar legislation in the future.
       I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming 
     this understanding with respect to H.R. 2421, and would ask 
     that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be 
     included in the record.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Sander M. Levin,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                              Committee on Financial Services,

                                      Washington, DC, May 3, 2010.
     Hon. Sander M. Levin,
     Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing in response to your letter 
     regarding H.R. 2421, the ``Mother's Day Centennial 
     Commemorative Coin Act,'' which was introduced in the House 
     and referred to the Committee on Financial Services on May 
     14, 2009. It is my understanding that this bill will be 
     scheduled for floor consideration shortly.
       I wish to confirm our mutual understanding on this bill. As 
     you know, section 7 of the bill establishes a surcharge for 
     the sale of commemorative coins that are minted under the 
     bill. I acknowledge your committee's jurisdictional interest 
     in such surcharges as revenue matters. However, I appreciate 
     your willingness to forego committee action on H.R. 2421 in 
     order to allow the bill to come to the floor expeditiously. I 
     agree that your decision to forego further action on this 
     bill will not prejudice the Committee on Ways and Means with 
     respect to its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar 
     legislation. I would support your request for conferees on 
     those provisions within your jurisdiction should this bill be 
     the subject of a House-Senate conference.
       I will include this exchange of letters in the 
     Congressional Record when this bill is considered by the 
     House. Thank you again for your assistance.
                                                     Barney Frank,
                                                         Chairman.

  Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2421, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________