World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act

Summary: (This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on December 2, 2014.  World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) mint and issue $1 silver coins in commemoration of the centennial of America's involvement in World War I; and (2) hold a juried competition, and compensate its winner, for design of the obverse and reverse of the coins in a way emblematic of the centennial.  Permits the use of only one facility of the U.S. Mint to strike any particular quality of the coins.  Authorizes the Secretary to issue the coins only during calendar year 2018.  Subjects coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin, payable by the Secretary to the United States Foundation for the Commemoration of the World Wars to assist the World War I Centennial Commission in the commemoration. Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) minting and issuing the coins will not result in any net cost to the government; and (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, shall be disbursed to designated recipients until the total cost of designing and issuing the coins is recovered by the Treasury.

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.
        (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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.