[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15165-15166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   MARK TWAIN COMMEMORATIVE COIN ACT

  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur 
in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 2453) to require the 
Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of Mark Twain.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the Senate amendments is as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       On page 7, strike lines 5 through 7 and insert the 
     following:
       (2) One-quarter of the surcharges, to the University of 
     California, Berkeley, California, for the benefit of the Mark 
     Twain Project at the Bancroft Library to support programs to 
     study and promote the legacy of Mark Twain.
       At the end, add the following:

     SEC. 8. NO NET COST.

       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, are 
     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

[[Page 15166]]

     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 
Missouri (Mr. Luetkemeyer) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. 
Maloney) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to add extraneous material to this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I 
rise in support of the Senate amendments to H.R. 2453, the Mark Twain 
Commemorative Coin Act.
  The underlying legislation, which passed the House by a vote of 408-4 
on April 18 and the Senate by unanimous consent in September, will 
allow the U.S. Treasury to mint $1 and $5 commemorative coins in 2016, 
which will promote the important legacy of Mark Twain and benefit four 
institutions that bear his name: the Mark Twain House & Museum in 
Hartford, Connecticut; the University of California Berkeley; Elmira 
College in New York; and in my congressional district, the Mark Twain 
Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri.
  I want to remind my colleagues that this bill will cost the American 
taxpayers nothing. In fact, the Senate has included language that 
specifically ensures that the minting and issuing of coins under this 
act will not result in any net cost to the United States Government and 
that no funds can be disbursed to the recipients until the total cost 
of designing and issuing all coins is first recovered by the U.S. 
Treasury.
  I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, for 
his leadership on this legislation.
  I also would like to acknowledge Hannibal's Mark Twain Boyhood Home & 
Museum executive director Dr. Cindy Lovell and the museum's curator 
Henry Sweets, as well as their dedicated staff, for their incredible 
work to promote awareness and appreciation of the life and works of 
Mark Twain.
  The bill we consider today honors the legacy of a great American and 
will greatly help to educate the public of his great accomplishments 
and contributions to society. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
passing this legislation.
  And with that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MALONEY. I yield myself as much time as I may consume, Mr. 
Speaker.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 2453, the Mark Twain Commemorative 
Coin Act. This legislation will allow the U.S. Treasury Department to 
mint $1 silver and $5 gold commemorative coins in recognition of Mark 
Twain's incredible legacy.
  The minting of these coins will come at no additional cost to the 
taxpayer and will be divided among four important organizations 
dedicated to promoting the legacy of Mark Twain. One will be the Mark 
Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut; secondly, the Mark Twain 
Project at the Bancroft Library at the University of California, 
Berkeley; thirdly, the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College 
in my home State of New York; and, lastly, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home 
& Museum in Hannibal, Missouri.
  I commend the work of my colleague from Missouri, Representative 
Luetkemeyer. This bill will ensure that these great institutions will 
benefit directly from Mark Twain's legacy.
  Samuel Clemens, better known to the world as Mark Twain, was one of 
the most important and unique American voices whose literary work has 
had a lasting effect on our Nation's history and culture. In fact, Mark 
Twain was instrumental in popularizing the image of an America full of 
hardworking men and women who pulled themselves up by their own 
bootstraps, an America that is still very much alive and well and part 
of the American Dream.
  Mark Twain's literary achievements and educational legacy remain 
strong to this very day, with nearly every book he wrote still in 
print, still taught in our schools, and still providing us with a 
social narrative that we will not and should not forget.
  ``The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,'' ``Huckleberry Finn,'' ``The Prince 
and the Pauper''--Twain's writings continue to be printed over a 
century after they were first published, and they continue to make a 
lasting impact. They are a cherished memory for every American school 
child.
  So as Mark Twain once wrote: ``There is nothing that cannot happen 
today.'' Isn't that the American spirit, the can-do American spirit?
  I support this legislation as the recognition of one of America's 
greatest authors and certainly one of America's most popular authors, 
Mark Twain. I thank my colleague for bringing forward this important 
legacy legislation, American legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I just want to close by inviting my 
colleague from New York to come to the district to see the landmarks 
that inspired Mark Twain to write about Huckleberry Finn and Tom 
Sawyer. And you can see from those landmarks where he got the 
inspiration to do what he did and the type of people that he was around 
to see how he came up with his ideas. It's really a neat place to 
visit, and I certainly welcome and encourage you to come.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time.
  And I would like to take up my good friend on the other side of the 
aisle on his offer and see if we can get a group of Congress Members to 
come and see this lasting legacy. Mark Twain--I read every single one 
of his books. I would love to see his inspiration from the great State 
of Missouri.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Luetkemeyer) that the House suspend the 
rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 2453.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. MALONEY. 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 question will be postponed.

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