[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 131 (Monday, September 15, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H7506-H7508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              BOYS TOWN CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE COIN ACT

  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 2866) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 
coins in commemoration of the centennial of Boys Town, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2866

       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 ``Boys Town Centennial 
     Commemorative Coin Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) Boys Town is a nonprofit organization dedicated to 
     saving children and healing families, nationally 
     headquartered in the village of Boys Town, Nebraska;
       (2) Father Flanagan's Boys Home, known as ``Boys Town'', 
     was founded on December 12, 1917, by Servant of God Father 
     Edward Flanagan;
       (3) Boys Town was created to serve children of all races 
     and religions;
       (4) news of the work of Father Flanagan spread worldwide 
     with the success of the 1938 movie, ``Boys Town'';
       (5) after World War II, President Truman asked Father 
     Flanagan to take his message to the world, and Father 
     Flanagan traveled the globe visiting war orphans and advising 
     government leaders on how to care for displaced children;
       (6) Boys Town has grown exponentially, and now provides 
     care to children and families across the country in 11 
     regions, including California, Nevada, Texas, Nebraska,

[[Page H7507]]

     Iowa, Louisiana, North Florida, Central Florida, South 
     Florida, Washington, DC, New York, and New England;
       (7) the Boys Town National Hotline provides counseling to 
     more than 150,000 callers each year;
       (8) the Boys Town National Research Hospital is a national 
     leader in the field of hearing care and research of Usher 
     Syndrome;
       (9) Boys Town programs impact the lives of more than 
     2,000,000 children and families across America each year; and
       (10) December 12th, 2017, will mark the 100th anniversary 
     of Boys Town, Nebraska.

     SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

       (a) $5 Gold Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury (referred 
     to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not 
     more than 50,000 $5 coins in commemoration of the centennial 
     of the founding of Father Flanagan's Boys Town, each of which 
     shall--
       (1) weigh 8.359 grams;
       (2) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
       (3) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
       (b) $1 Silver Coins.--The Secretary shall mint and issue 
     not more than 350,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the 
     centennial of the founding of Father Flanagan's Boys Town, 
     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.
       (c) Half Dollar Clad Coins.--The Secretary shall mint and 
     issue not more than 300,000 half dollar clad coins in 
     commemoration of the centennial of the founding of Father 
     Flanagan's Boys Town, each of which shall--
       (1) weigh 11.34 grams;
       (2) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and
       (3) be minted to the specifications for half dollar coins 
     contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United States Code.
       (d) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be 
     legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United 
     States Code.
       (e) 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) In General.--The design of the coins minted under this 
     Act shall be emblematic of the 100 years of Boys Town, one of 
     the largest nonprofit child care agencies in the United 
     States.
       (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 ``2017''; 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 
     National Executive Director of Boys Town and the Commission 
     of Fine Arts; and
       (2) reviewed by the Citizens of 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 1 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 period beginning on January 1, 
     2017, and ending on December 31, 2017.

     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; and
       (2) 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 as follows:
       (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin.
       (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
       (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half dollar 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 
     Boys Town to carry out Boys Town's cause of caring for and 
     assisting children and families in underserved communities 
     across America.

     SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.

       The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary 
     to ensure that--
       (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act will not 
     result in any net cost to the Federal Government; and
       (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges , shall be 
     disbursed to any recipient designated in section 7 until the 
     total cost of designing and issuing all of the coins 
     authorized by this Act (including labor, materials, dies, use 
     of machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping) is 
     recovered by the United States Treasury, consistent with 
     sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Waters) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to submit extraneous materials for the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 2866, the Boys Town Centennial 
Commemorative Coin Act, introduced by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. 
Terry), and seek its immediate passage.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us commemorates the centennial, 
in 2017, of the founding of Boys Town, an almost mythic place that 
pioneered a method of caring for the youth of this country who had 
fallen by the wayside in one way or another. In a way, the coin 
commemorates the spirit of what was then still a young country and of 
Boys Town's founder, Father Edward Flanagan.
  Irish-born, he had come to this country only a bit more than 100 
years after the first Congress met, yet, by the time he had died, he 
had been sent by President Truman to all corners of the globe to teach 
others to care for kids as he had done. Ordained in 1912, Father 
Flanagan was assigned to the Diocese of Omaha and, after a stint of 
working with homeless men, decided to focus on youths, founding what 
later came to be called ``The City of Little Men.'' He famously 
thought, as the Boys Town Web site points out, that every child could 
be a productive citizen if given love, a home, an education, and a 
trade. He accepted boys of every race, color, and religion, and he 
believed that there are no bad boys, there is only bad environment, bad 
training, bad example, bad thinking.
  I am almost certain that every Member of this Chamber knows that 
famous line that became the motto of Boys Town: ``He ain't heavy, 
Mister. He's my brother.'' That is what is said by an older lad, with a 
younger boy on his shoulders, in a logo adopted during the Second World 
War. All of us, surely, know the ``Boys Town'' movie, with Mickey 
Rooney, that won Spencer Tracy an Oscar for the role of Boys Town 
founder, Father Flanagan, but how many of us know that the organization 
that began in a rented, rundown Victorian mansion in central Omaha as 
Father Flanagan's Home for Boys has grown to be one of the country's 
largest nonprofit child care organizations, serving the emotional, 
behavioral, and physical problems of children and their families--as 
many as 2 million people each year? Or that it operates throughout the 
country, in 12 major sites, from California to south Florida to New 
England, and even here in the District of Columbia?
  Boys Town maintains its national headquarters in the Nebraska village 
of the same name, on the site of a farm Father Flanagan bought a few 
years after renting that first house for $90. There he founded a 
community that, under the careful hands of those leaders following his 
death, expanded its services to help kids live in a family setting, 
with married couples carefully watching the units that included both 
boys and girls. In the 1970s, the Boys Town National Research Hospital 
opened. It has become a top treatment center for kids with speech and 
hearing disabilities, with outreach programs that touch as many as 
60,000 deaf and hearing-impaired students each year.
  The bill before us would allow the minting and issue in 2017 of no 
more than 50,000 gold coins and no more than 350,000 silver coins in 
commemoration of the centennial of the founding of

[[Page H7508]]

Boys Town. The coins would be sold at a price that covers all taxpayer 
costs, and a surcharge on the sale of the coins would go to Boys Town 
to continue its work after Boys Town has raised an equal amount from 
private sources. The legislation has 293 cosponsors, and a Senate 
companion bill, introduced by Senator Johanns, has 36 cosponsors.
  Mr. Speaker, the spirit of Boys Town embodies the best of America. 
This bill would help recognize and continue to nurture that spirit. I 
commend the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry) for his hard work on 
this issue. I ask for the immediate passage of the bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 2866, as amended, a bill which 
provides appropriate recognition for the outstanding work conducted by 
Boys Town, a nonprofit organization which selflessly promotes the 
interests of children and their families across the Nation.
  Boys Town, which takes its name from Father Flanagan's Boys' Home, 
impacts the lives of more than 2 million families across America each 
year through its counseling services, outreach, and education. I am 
also pleased to report that, each year, Boys Town directly touches the 
lives of 45,000 Californians through its community support services and 
homes for troubled youths.
  Father Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, focused on the inherent 
good in children and built a world-class organization that emphasized 
the rehabilitation of troubled youths rather than punishment. It is 
this compassionate approach and commitment to love, training, and 
guidance, regardless of race, creed, or color, that has made Boys Town 
such a success story and a lifeline for countless children and their 
families.
  In commemoration of the organization's centennial anniversary, the 
bill before us today will require the U.S. Treasury Department to mint 
and issue $5 gold, $1 silver, and half-dollar clad commemorative coins. 
Surcharges associated with the sale of the coins will allow Boys Town 
to raise needed funds that will be dedicated to making a positive 
impact on the lives of children and families from underserved 
communities across America. I am also pleased to report that the 
passage of this bill entails no net cost to taxpayers.

  I would urge my colleagues to join me in passing this commonsense, 
bipartisan bill without further delay.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Terry), the sponsor of this legislation.
  Mr. TERRY. Thank you. I appreciate the support.
  I also thank the gentlewoman from California for her support all the 
way from the beginning of this bill to today's passage. It means a lot 
to me and to the people of Omaha and Boys Town.
  This bill will honor the significant contributions, Mr. Speaker, of 
Boys Town and how, in my district, it has impacted our community and 
our country with a fitting tribute to the legacy of Father Flanagan, 
who founded Boys Town.
  A priest and an immigrant from Ireland, Father Flanagan was of modest 
means, but in 1917--about 5 years after becoming a priest--he borrowed 
$90 from B'nai B'rith member Henry Monsky to open a boarding house 
because they both shared a love for the homeless boys, who had been 
abandoned or orphaned, living on the streets of our city. They created 
this boarding house, went out and recruited boys from the streets to 
come in, where he not only housed them and fed them but where he 
educated them and taught them a trade. He really felt that the 
education and the trade were necessary parts of making them into men 
who would be part of the community and be successful. Father Flanagan 
did not differentiate between race or religion, and by the spring of 
the next year, 100 boys found refuge in Father Flanagan's home. It is 
great seeing the pictures from that era of boys of all races who were 
eating together and playing together.
  In 1921, Father Flanagan opened his doors further. He was able to 
purchase the Overlook Farm way on the outskirts. Now I have to drive 
about 50 blocks east to get to it, as it is surrounded by Omaha. That 
is the property that is now known, iconically, as ``Boys Town.''

                              {time}  2030

  It became an official village with its own post office in 1936.
  Today, Boys Town serves more than 2 million children and families 
across our country each year. It provides parental counseling. The Boys 
Town national hotline provides counseling to more than 150,000 children 
and families each year.
  The Boys Town National Research Hospital is a national leader in the 
field of hearing care and research of Usher syndrome, and all of this 
is thanks to the vision of Father Flanagan when he borrowed $90 to 
start a boys' home.
  Now, also I should mention that it was probably around the 
seventies--I can't remember the date--when women--young girls were 
allowed in there. In fact, a couple of times, I have had the pleasure 
of being invited to dinner at one of the houses there where they have a 
host family, and there were eight girls in this house who were then 
ordered by the court or placed there by a family to help them with a 
variety of issues, mostly disciplinary, some health care.
  In fact, Boys Town is now becoming the leader in research for 
pharmaceuticals for young children, for children, teenagers. Most of 
them have come to Boys Town with about four or five different 
prescriptions, and Boys Town, because of their way of counseling and 
dealing with it, can get most of them off of the prescription drugs.
  This is what Boys Town stands for. As Father Flanagan once said, ``I 
know, when the idea of a boys' home grew in my mind, I never thought of 
anything remarkable about taking in all of the races and all of the 
creeds. To me, they are all God's children. They are my brothers. They 
are children of God. I must protect them to the best of my ability.''
  Mr. Speaker, 97 years later, inspired by Father Flanagan, here we 
are, and that vision stands as true today as it did in 1917.
  It is the inscription of the iconic statue of the two boys, one on 
the shoulder of the other, that stood as the centerpiece of the village 
for more than 70 years now. ``He ain't heavy. He's my brother.'' That 
is the Boys Town way, to be full of compassion and to help our fellow 
man.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to, again, 
thank Mr. Terry of Nebraska for his hard work on this issue and so many 
other issues.
  The passage of this bill is an appropriate way to commemorate the 
great work and the legacy of Father Flanagan, of his home for boys, of 
the medical center that bears that name, and the great work of the boys 
and girls who come through the facilities of Boys Town throughout the 
country; so I urge my colleagues to support the bill and pass it under 
suspension.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2866, 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.

                          ____________________