[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 4, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3197-S3198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE COIN ACT
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, as in legislative session, I ask
unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 1235 and the
Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1235) to require the Secretary of the Treasury
to mint coins in commemoration of ratification of the 19th
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, giving
women in the United States the right to vote.
There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Barrasso amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; the bill,
as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the
motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 251) was agreed to as follows:
(Purpose: To add Esther Hobart Morris to a list of suffrage activists)
On page 2, line 18, insert ``Esther Hobart Morris,'' before
``and''.
The bill (S. 1235), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a
third reading, was read the third time, and passed as follows:
S. 1235
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 ``Women's Suffrage Centennial
Commemorative Coin Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the
first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York.
[[Page S3198]]
Sixty-eight women and 32 men signed the Declaration of
Sentiments at the Convention in July 1848.
(2) The Declaration of Sentiments was modeled after the
Declaration of Independence and declared that ``all men and
women are created equal'', linking women's rights directly to
the founding ideals of the United States.
(3) Suffrage activists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ida B.
Wells, Jovita Idar, Inez Millholland, Mary Church Terrell,
Anne Dallas Dudley, Carrie Chapman Cat, Alice Paul, Lucy
Burns, Esther Hobart Morris, and many others, conducted over
900 local, State, and Federal campaigns over a 72-year time
span to win women the right to vote.
(4) On November 6, 1917, New York granted women the right
to vote, which was an act that created momentum for the
national movement that culminated in the ratification of the
19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 3
years later.
(5) The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States (``The Susan B. Anthony Amendment'') guarantees all
United States women the right to vote and was passed by the
66th Congress of the United States on June 4, 1919.
(6) On August 9, 1920, right before the ratification period
was set to expire, Governor Albert H. Roberts called a
special session of the Tennessee General Assembly to consider
the amendment. Pro-suffrage and anti-suffrage activists from
around the country descended on Nashville, Tennessee, intent
on influencing the legislature.
(7) After the amendment was defeated in a 48-48 tie vote,
Tennessee State Representative Harry T. Burn from McMinn
County cast the deciding favorable vote after receiving a
note from his mother, Phoebe Ensminger Burn, imploring him to
vote yes for ratification.
(8) On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th and final
State needed to pass the 19th Amendment, ensuring its
ratification pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the
United States.
(9) The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 26, 1920,
when Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby issued a
proclamation announcing it has become part of the
Constitution of the United States.
(10) The ratification of the 19th Amendment marked the
single largest extension of voting rights in United States
history, enfranchising 27,000,000 American women in the
United States.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is--
(1) to honor and commemorate the work of women suffrage
activists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries;
(2) to increase public awareness and appreciation for the
history of the women's suffrage movement; and
(3) to encourage all women in the United States to exercise
their hard-won franchise and to become involved in civic life
if they so choose.
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 400,000 $1 coins, which
shall--
(1) weigh 26.73 grams;
(2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(3) contain at least 90 percent silver.
(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 COIN.
(a) Design Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this
Act shall be emblematic of the women who played a vital role
in rallying support for the 19th Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
(2) Designations 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 ``2020''; and
(C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We
Trust'', ``United States of America'', ``E Pluribus Unum.''
(b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this
Act shall--
(1) contain motifs that honor Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Carrie Chapman Catt, Harriet Tubman, Mary
Church Terrell, Alice Paul, Lide Meriwether, Ida B. Wells,
and other suffrage activists of the late 19th century and
early 20th centuries;
(2) be selected by the Secretary, after consultation with
the Smithsonian Institution's American Women's History
Initiative, and the Commission of Fine Arts; and
(3) be 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 Facilities.--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,
2020, and ending on December 31, 2020.
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(a) 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 as follows:
(1) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin described
under section 3(a)(1).
(b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31,
United States Code, and section 8(2), all surcharges received
by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act
shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Smithsonian
Institution's American Women's History Initiative for the
purpose of--
(1) collecting, studying, and establishing programs
relating to women's contributions to various fields and
throughout different periods of history that have influenced
the direction of the United States; and
(2) creating exhibitions and programs that recognize
diverse perspectives on women's history and contributions.
(c) Audits.--The Smithsonian Institution's American Women's
History Initiative shall be subject to the audit requirements
of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with
regard to the amounts received under subsection (b).
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(b) 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.
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