[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 145 (Tuesday, December 2, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H8255-H8258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WORLD WAR I AMERICAN VETERANS CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE COIN ACT
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2366) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins
in commemoration of the centennial of World War I, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2366
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 ``World War I American
Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) The year 2018 is the 100th anniversary of the signing
of the armistice with Germany ending World War I battlefield
hostilities.
(2) On the 6th of April 1917, the United States of America
entered World War I by declaring war against Germany.
(3) Two million American soldiers served overseas during
World War I.
(4) More than four million men and women from the United
States served in uniform during World War I.
(5) The events of 1914 through 1918 shaped the world and
the lives of millions of people for decades.
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(6) Over 9 million soldiers worldwide lost their lives
between 1914 and 1918.
(7) The centennial of America's involvement in World War I
offers an opportunity for people in the United States to
commemorate the commitment of their predecessors.
(8) Frank Buckles, the last American veteran from World War
I died on February 27, 2011.
(9) He was our last direct American link to the ``war to
end all wars''.
(10) While other great conflicts, including the Civil War,
World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, have all
been memorialized on United States commemorative coins, there
currently exists no coin to honor the brave veterans of World
War I.
(11) The 112th Congress established the World War I
Centennial Commission to plan, develop, and execute programs,
projects, and activities to commemorate the centennial of
World War I.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to--
(1) commemorate the centennial of America's involvement in
World War I; and
(2) honor the over 4 million men and women from the United
States who served during World War I.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) $1 Silver Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury
(hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'')
shall mint and issue not more than 350,000 $1 coins in
commemoration of the centennial of America's involvement in
World War I, each of which shall--
(1) weigh 26.73 grams;
(2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches (38.1 millimeters); 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 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 centennial of America's
involvement in World War I.
(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 ``2018''; 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 selected by the Secretary based on the winning
design from a juried, compensated design competition
described under subsection (c).
(c) Design Competition.--The Secretary shall hold a
competition and provide compensation for its winner to design
the obverse and reverse of the coins minted under this Act.
The competition shall be held in the following manner:
(1) The competition shall be judged by an expert jury
chaired by the Secretary and consisting of 3 members from the
Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee who shall be elected by
such Committee and 3 members from the Commission of Fine Arts
who shall be elected by such Commission.
(2) The Secretary shall determine compensation for the
winning design, which shall be not less than $5,000.
(3) The Secretary may not accept a design for the
competition unless a plaster model accompanies the design.
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, 2018.
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 $10 per 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 by
the Secretary to the United States Foundation for the
Commemoration of the World Wars, to assist the World War I
Centennial Commission in commemorating the centenary of World
War I.
(c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall have the right to examine such books, records,
documents, and other data of the United States Foundation for
the Commemoration of the World Wars 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. The Secretary may issue guidance to carry
out this subsection.
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 United States 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 New
Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico.
General Leave
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials for the Record on H.R. 2366, as
amended, currently under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Mexico?
There was no objection.
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, a few short weeks ago, the world marked the 96th
anniversary of the signing of the peace accords between the Allied
Forces and Germany that ended what, at the time, was called the Great
War. Sadly, it was only the first of what we now call World Wars
because it was followed only two short decades later by the beginning
of what became known as World War II.
That anniversary, which America today calls Veterans Day, was, for
years, called Armistice Day, and it is still called that across Europe.
Four years from now, November 11, 2018, will mark the signing of that
armistice. It will be 100 years since the end of that ugly, bloody war
that ushered in aerial warfare, chemical weapons, tanks, and a host of
other horrors.
Mr. Speaker, in the ensuing century we have not managed to move past
war, and it is well that we remember its costs. For that reason, I rise
in strong support of this legislation before us, H.R. 2366, introduced
by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) along with the gentleman
from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver).
The World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act
calls for the Treasury Secretary to mint and make available for sale no
more than 350,000 silver coins in recognition of the centenary of the
end of that war.
The veterans of the Great War are long gone, the last having died
nearly 4 years ago. It is well that we remember, though, that nearly 4
million Americans, men and women, served in uniform during the First
World War. Half of them served overseas, and some even volunteered to
fight for other Allied armies even before the U.S. entered the war in
April of 1917.
Of those 4 million veterans, even those who are not students of
military history know some of the names, such as General John Joseph
Pershing, known as ``Black Jack'' Pershing, who led the American
Expeditionary Forces in that war and became the only general of the
armies promoted to that rank while he was alive.
Sergeant Alvin York was perhaps the best known and most decorated
soldier, winning a Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a nest of
enemy machine guns at the height of the Meuse-Argonne battles in
France, capturing 32
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of them and 132 enemies while killing 28.
James Norman Hall, an Iowa youngster, went to France before the U.S.
entered the war to fly with the American-staffed Lafayette Escadrille
of the French Air Corps, and later drifted to the South Seas where he
cowrote the ``Mutiny on the Bounty'' trilogy.
Mr. Speaker, the coins authorized by this legislation would be sold
at a price that would recoup all costs to taxpayers. The sale price
would include a surcharge that, after requirements for raising private
matching funds are met, would support the work of the World War I
Centennial Commission established by the 111th Congress to plan and
execute activities marking the centennial of the war.
This legislation currently has 302 cosponsors, and a companion bill
introduced by Senator Blunt has 72.
Mr. Speaker, while not celebrating this or any other war, I urge
Members to soberly reflect on the horrors and tragedy of this first
global conflict and to support this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2366, the World War I
American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, introduced by
Representative Doug Lamborn of Colorado's Fifth Congressional District,
and seek its immediate passage.
Mr. Speaker, as you may know, this summer marked the 100th
anniversary of the start of World War I. The United States formally
joined the war in April of 1917. During that time, more than 4.7
million Americans served, and of those brave men and women, more than
116,000 soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice.
While other great conflicts, including the Civil War, World War II,
the Korean war, and the Vietnam war, have all been memorialized on
United States commemorative coins, there currently exists no coin to
honor the brave veterans of World War I. This bill would honor their
service by directing the Secretary of the Treasury to, number one, hold
a competition to design the coins and, number two, mint and issue $1
silver coins in commemoration of the centennial of America's
involvement in World War I.
The sale of the coins will assist the World War I Centennial
Commission in raising funds that will be utilized in commemorating U.S.
involvement in the Great War and educating a new generation of
Americans about the role the United States assumed in that war.
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.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague
from the State of New Mexico for his leadership.
I rise in support of H.R. 2366, which I introduced with the help of
my colleague, Representative Emanuel Cleaver, which would require the
Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the
centennial of World War I.
The year 2018 will be the 100th anniversary of the signing of the
armistice with Germany, marking the end of battlefield hostilities in
World War I. During the war, more than 4 million men and women from the
United States served in uniform, and more than 100,000 gave their
lives.
To honor their service and sacrifices, Congress created the World War
I Centennial Commission in 2013 and tasked them with planning and
executing activities to commemorate the centennial of World War I
through the use of private donations and coin sales.
By requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins to
commemorate this centennial, this bill would allow us to honor the
memory, service, and sacrifices of the brave veterans of World War I,
while also providing the means to pay tribute to the end of World War I
battlefield hostilities.
Other great conflicts, including the Civil War, World War II, the
Korean war, and the Vietnam war, have all been memorialized on United
States commemorative coins, but no such honor has been extended to the
brave veterans of World War I. This year, 2014, as has been said, is
the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, making it a very
fitting tribute that we pass the measure for this year.
It is my pleasure to offer H.R. 2366. I am grateful for the
opportunity to work with both Representative Emanuel Cleaver and
Senator Roy Blunt on this important bill. Together, we have gathered
300 cosponsors in the House for this patriotic bill. It will not cost
the U.S. Treasury anything, as has been said, but, on a voluntary
basis, will actually raise money.
It is no coincidence that Representatives and Senators from the State
of Missouri are helping on this effort. There is a wonderful memorial
to World War I in Kansas City, Missouri, with an adjoining museum that
is a world-class museum. For those who haven't had the opportunity to
visit that museum and learn about this chapter in our Nation's history,
I would strongly urge them to do so.
I thank Chairman Hensarling and the Financial Services Committee for
their support of this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to join me
in honoring the brave veterans of World War I by supporting this bill.
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas, Judge Poe.
{time} 1515
Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentleman from New Mexico.
Mr. Speaker, it was called the ``War to End All Wars.'' It began 100
years ago, and after 3 years, World War I was a bloody stalemate.
Then the American doughboys entered the bloody trenches of Europe,
and the tenacious teenagers went over there to a land they had never
seen fighting for people they did not know. But soon after, the war
turned in the favor of the Allies, and the war was over.
Allied victory was declared in 1918. Millions and millions of people
throughout the world had died. 116,000 Americans died. Many more
thousands died when they came back to America from the Spanish flu that
they got while they were overseas.
The last surviving World War I veteran was Frank Buckles. This is a
photograph of him shortly before his death. I got to know Frank Buckles
before he died at the age of 110. Like I said, he was the last
surviving World War I veteran from America.
He lied to get into the United States Army. He was probably 15. He
convinced some Army recruiter that he was 21, and they signed him up.
He served in World War I.
After World War I was over with, World War II started, and he found
himself in the Philippines. He was captured by the Japanese and put in
a prisoner-of-war camp until World War II was over.
But he came to the United States Capitol and met with many Members of
the House and Senate for the sole purpose of making sure that those
doughboys he fought with and who died were remembered by the United
States Congress. His dying wish was that those he served with would be
honored by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The proceeds from the sale of the coins will be used for the World
War I Commission to help commemorate the sacrifices of those warriors.
I was privileged to be appointed as an original member of the World War
I Commission and still serve on the World War I Foundation.
I want to thank Congressman Cleaver from Missouri for all the work he
has done to remember those doughboys, not only in this specific bill of
getting this coin act passed but the original commission that he worked
on to make sure that we, as an American Nation, remembered them.
I appreciate the work that the gentleman does in Kansas City with the
first-class memorial that we have to honor those World War I veterans.
Mr. Speaker, all those that served, every one of them that served in
World War I, they are all gone. There are none left. Frank Buckles was
the last one.
But the United States World War I Commission will make sure we
Americans remember and honor them, for the
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worst casualty of war is to be forgotten.
And that is just the way it is.
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time.
First of all, thanks to Mr. Cleaver and Mr. Lamborn for bringing this
bill to the floor today. Thanks for your dedicated work on that.
Thanks to Mr. Poe. Around here we just simply know him as ``Judge,''
but thanks for his poignant comments.
As a Vietnam veteran returning to the United States in the 1973 era,
I found a Nation that was disrespectful to young men and women who had
served, myself included. I took my uniform off and put it in a closet,
never to pull it out until I ran for Congress and people began to ask
why I didn't tell about the military story.
That is a condition and a mindset that no matter how you are
registered, no matter what culture you are in, what race, what
religion, we must never let this happen again. We must be willing to
sacrifice for those who have sacrificed for us and those who have been
willing to make the sacrifice.
My grandfather was in World War I. As I was approaching my time to go
to Vietnam, he visited with me about being in the Argonne Forest and
about being gassed there. It left him with a lung condition and frailty
throughout the rest of his life. But he never was sorry for serving,
never was sorry for those things that had happened to him.
It is young men and women who are willing to do anything for others'
freedom that we are honoring here today. And again, I would urge all to
support this legislation. It is a noble concept and a noble tradition
of remembering those who have served this country in the military.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2366, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. PEARCE. 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, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________