II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1182 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in 

recognition of the 100th anniversary of The American Legion. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 18, 2017 

Mr. YOUNG (for himself, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. COTTON, Mr. 

TESTER, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. MANCHIN, Ms. BALDWIN, 

Mrs. CAPITO, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. CARPER, Mr. KING, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MORAN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. GRAHAM, Ms. WARREN, Mr. NELSON, Mr. DAINES, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. ROUNDS, and Mr. 

ISAKSON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in recognition of the 100th anniversary of 

The American Legion. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as ‘‘The American Legion 

5 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 

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1 (1) on March 15, 1919, The American Legion 

2 was founded in Paris, France, by members of the 

3 American Expeditionary Force occupying Europe 

4 after World War I and concerned about the welfare 

5 of their comrades and communities upon their re6 turn to the United States; 

7 (2) on September 16, 1919, Congress chartered 

8 The American Legion, which quickly grew to become 

9 the largest veterans service organization in the 

10 United States; 

11 (3) The American Legion conferences in Wash12 ington, DC, in 1923 and 1924 crafted the first 

13 United States Flag Code, which was adopted in 

14 schools, States, cities and counties prior to being en15 acted in 1942, establishing the proper use, display, 

16 and respect for the colors of the United States; 

17 (4) during World War II, The American Legion 

18 developed and presented to Congress its case for 

19 vastly improved support for medically discharged, 

20 disabled veterans, which ultimately became the Serv21 icemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284; 

22 chapter 268), better known as the G.I. Bill of 

23 Rights, and was drafted by former American Legion 

24 National Commander Harry W. Colmery in Wash25 ington’s Mayflower Hotel; 

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1 (5) through the leadership and advocacy of The 

2 American Legion, the G.I. Bill was enacted in June 

3 1944, which led to monumental changes in United 

4 States society, including the democratization of high5 er education, home ownership for average people in 

6 the United States, better VA hospitals, business and 

7 farm loans for veterans, and the ability to appeal 

8 conditions of military discharge; 

9 (6) defying those who argued the G.I. Bill 

10 would break the Treasury, according to various re11 searchers, the G.I. Bill provided a tremendous re12 turn on investment of $7 to the United States econ13 omy for every $1 spent on the program, triggering 

14 a half-century of prosperity in the United States; 

15 (7) after Hurricane Hugo in 1989, The Amer16 ican Legion established the National Emergency 

17 Fund to provide immediate cash relief for veterans 

18 who have been affected by natural disasters; 

19 (8) American Legion National Emergency Fund 

20 grants after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, 

21 for instance, exceeded $1,700,000; 

22 (9) The American Legion fought to see the Vet23 erans Administration elevated to Cabinet-level status 

24 as the Department of Veterans Affairs, ensuring 

25 support for veterans would be set at the highest level 

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1 of the Federal Government, as a priority issue for 

2 the President; 

3 (10) after a decades-long struggle to improve 

4 the adjudication process for veterans disputing 

5 claims decisions, The American Legion helped shape 

6 and introduce the Veterans Reassurance Act to cre7 ate a venue for judicial review of veterans’ appeals; 

8 (11) building on these efforts, legislation was 

9 passed in 1988 to create the United States Court of 

10 Veterans Appeals, today known as the United States 

11 Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; 

12 (12) The American Legion created the Amer13 ican Legacy Scholarship Fund for children of mili14 tary members killed on active duty on or after Sep15 tember 11, 2001; 

16 (13) in 2016, The American Legion’s National 

17 Executive Committee amended the original scholar18 ship criteria to include children of veterans with 50 

19 percent or greater VA disability ratings; 

20 (14) President George W. Bush signed into law 

21 the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act 

22 (title V of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 

23 2008; 122 Stat. 2357), a next-generation G.I. Bill 

24 strongly supported by The American Legion and the 

25 most comprehensive educational benefits package 

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1 since the original G.I. Bill of Rights was enacted in 

2 1944; 

3 (15) in August 2018, The American Legion will 

4 begin its centennial recognition at the 100th Na5 tional Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the 

6 site of the first American Legion National Conven7 tion; and 

8 (16) in March 2019, the organization will cele9 brate its 100th birthday in Paris, France, and Sep10 tember 16, 2019, will mark the 100th anniversary of 

11 The American Legion’s Federal charter. 

12 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

13 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In recognition and celebration 

14 of the 100th anniversary of The American Legion, the 

15 Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred 

16 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue the following 

17 coins: 

18 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 

19 coins, which shall— 

20 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

21 (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 

22 (C) contain not less than 90 percent gold. 

23 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 

24 $1 coins, which shall— 

25 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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1 (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 

2 (C) contain not less than 90 percent silver. 

3 (3) HALF-DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more 

4 than 750,000 half-dollar coins which shall— 

5 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

6 (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 

7 (C) be minted to the specifications for half8 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

9 31, United States Code. 

10 (b) LEGAL TENDER.—The coins minted under this 

11 Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of 

12 title 31, United States Code. 

13 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

14 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

15 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis16 matic items. 

17 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The design for the coins minted 

19 under this Act shall be emblematic of The American Le20 gion. 

21 (b) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each 

22 coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

23 (1) a designation of the denomination of the 

24 coin; 

25 (2) an inscription of the year ‘‘2019’’; and 

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1 (3) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, ‘‘In 

2 God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of America’’, and 

3 ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

4 (c) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 

5 under this Act shall be— 

6 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

7 with— 

8 (A) the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

9 (B) the Adjutant of The American Legion, 

10 as defined in the constitution and bylaws of 

11 The American Legion; and 

12 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative 

13 Coin Advisory Committee. 

14 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

15 (a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this 

16 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

17 (b) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

18 issue coins minted under this Act only during the 1-year 

19 period beginning on January 1, 2019. 

20 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

21 (a) SALE PRICE.—The coins issued under this Act 

22 shall be sold by the Secretary at a price based upon the 

23 sum of— 

24 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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1 (2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with 

2 respect to such coins; and 

3 (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 

4 (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 

5 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

6 (b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 

7 sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable 

8 discount. 

9 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 

11 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

12 before the issuance of such coins. 

13 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre14 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea15 sonable discount. 

16 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins minted under 

18 this Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 

19 (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin. 

20 (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin 

21 described under section 3(a)(2). 

22 (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dol23 lar coin. 

24 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of 

25 title 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by 

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1 the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act 

2 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to The American 

3 Legion for costs related to— 

4 (1) promoting the importance of, and caring 

5 for, those who have served in uniform, ensuring they 

6 receive proper health care and disability benefits 

7 earned through military service; 

8 (2) promoting the importance of, and caring 

9 for, those who are still serving in the Armed Forces; 

10 (3) promoting the importance of maintaining 

11 the patriotic values, morals, culture, and citizenship 

12 of the United States; and 

13 (4) promoting the importance of maintaining 

14 strong families, assistance for at-risk children, and 

15 activities that promote their healthy and wholesome 

16 development. 

17 (c) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), no 

18 surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

19 under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as 

20 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

21 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro22 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual com23 memorative coin program issuance limitation under sec24 tion 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in ef25 fect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 May 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1182.IS S1182
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1 retary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 

2 this subsection. 

3 (d) GAO AUDIT.—Each recipient described in sub4 section (b) shall be subject to the audit requirements of 

5 section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with 

6 regard to the amounts received under subsection (b). 

7 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

8 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec9 essary to ensure that— 

10 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

11 will not result in any net cost to the United States 

12 Government; and 

13 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

14 are disbursed to any recipient designated in section 

15 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of 

16 the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, 

17 materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, 

18 marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United 

19 States Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) 

20 and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code. 

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