I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3228

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

of all the brave and gallant Puerto Ricans in the 65th Infantry Regiment

of the United States Army who fought in the Korean conflict.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 29, 1996

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. GUTIERREZ, MRS. KENNELLY, Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. ROYBALALLARD, and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins

in commemoration of all the brave and gallant Puerto

Ricans in the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United

States Army who fought in the Korean conflict.

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; FINDINGS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘65th Infantry Regiment Commemorative Coin Act’’.

6 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress hereby finds that the

7 brave and gallant soldiers from the Commonwealth of
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1 Puerto Rico who comprised the 65th Infantry Regiment

2 of the United States Army deserve a special commemora3 tion and a commemorative coin for their contributions

4 during the Korean conflict for the following reasons:

5 (1) The Puerto Rican soldiers of the 65th In6 fantry Regiment unselfishly fought, bled, and died

7 for the rights and privileges of all citizens of the

8 United States and the Republic of Korea.

9 (2) 125 soldiers of the United States Army’s

10 65th Infantry Regiment were awarded the Silver

11 Star and 4 received the Distinguished Service Cross

12 for their heroism during the Korean conflict.

13 (3) The 65th Infantry Regiment went to the

14 rescue of the 1st Division of the United States Ma15 rine Corps in Hagaru-ri when that division was sur16 rounded by forces of the Peoples Republic of China,

17 provided a safe corridor through which the Marines

18 escaped, and formed a protective rear guard during

19 the retreat to Hungnam.

20 (4) After bitter fighting, and with the forces of

21 the Peoples Republic of China on their heels, the

22 65th Infantry Regiment was the last regiment to

23 leave the beachhead in the Christmas eve evacuation

24 of Hungnam on December 24, 1950.
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1 (5) One night, while the 65th Infantry Regi2 ment was encamped near the command post of the

3 3d Infantry Division of the United States Army dur4 ing a rest and recreation leave away from the front

5 lines, the command post of the 3d Infantry Division

6 was attacked by over 1,000 North Korean soldiers

7 who had infiltrated through the front lines without

8 being detected and the 65th Infantry Regiment ral9 lied, attacked, and subsequently destroyed the North

10 Korean force, thereby saving the commanding officer

11 and staff of the 3d Infantry Division from death or

12 capture.

13 (6) For their heroism in battle, the soldiers of

14 the 65th Infantry Division were showered with many

15 accolades but for them perhaps the most significant

16 and meaningful came in the form of a letter from

17 the commander of the United Nations forces in

18 Korea, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur

19 which read in part as follows:

20 ‘‘The Puerto Ricans forming the ranks of the gallant

21 65th Infantry Division on the battlefields of Korea by

22 valor, determination and a resolute will to victory give

23 daily testament to their invincible loyalty to the United

24 States and the fervor of their devotion to those immutable

25 standards of human relations to which the Americans and
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1 the Puerto Ricans are in common dedicated. They are

2 writing a brilliant record of achievement in battle and I

3 am proud indeed to have them in this command. I wish

4 that we might have many more like them.’’.

5 SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

6 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—In commemoration of all the

7 Puerto Ricans in the 65th Infantry Regiment of the

8 United States Army who fought in the Korean conflict,

9 the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act re10 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue not

11 more than 60,000 1 dollar coins, which shall—

12 (1) weigh 26.73 grams;

13 (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and

14 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent

15 copper.

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

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

18 title 31, United States Code.

19 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section

20 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted

21 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

22 SEC. 3. SOURCES OF BULLION.

23 The Secretary shall obtain silver for minting coins

24 under this Act only from stockpiles established under the

25 Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act.
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1 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

2 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The design of the coins

4 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the

5 courage and valor of the Puerto Ricans who served

6 in the 65th Infantry Regiment during the Korean

7 conflict.

8 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On

9 each coin minted under this Act there shall be—

10 (A) a designation of the value of the coin;

11 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘1997’’; and

12 (C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’,

13 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer14 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’.

15 (b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted

16 under this Act shall be—

17 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation

18 with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the National

19 Congress for Puerto Rican Veterans, the Puerto

20 Rican Veterans In Massachusetts Association, the

21 Puerto Rican-American Research Institute, and the

22 Commission of Fine Arts; and

23 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative

24 Coin Advisory Committee.
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1 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

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

3 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.

4 (b) MINT FACILITY.—Only 1 facility of the United

5 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality

6 of the coins minted under this Act.

7 (c) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary

8 may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January

9 1, 1997.

10 (d) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No

11 coins may be minted under this Act after December 31,

12 1997.

13 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

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

15 shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum

16 of—

17 (1) the face value of the coins;

18 (2) the surcharge provided in subsection (d)

19 with respect to such coins; and

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

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

22 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).

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

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

25 discount.

26 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept

2 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act

3 before the issuance of such coins.

4 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre5 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea6 sonable discount.

7 (d) SURCHARGES.—All sales shall include a sur8 charge of $10 per coin.

9 SEC. 7. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULA10 TIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

12 (b), no provision of law governing procurement or public

13 contracts shall be applicable to the procurement of goods

14 and services necessary for carrying out the provisions of

15 this Act.

16 (b) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY.—Sub17 section (a) shall not relieve any person entering into a con18 tract under the authority of this Act from complying with

19 any law relating to equal employment opportunity.

20 SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—All surcharges received by the

22 Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall

23 be promptly deposited in the Korean War Veterans Memo24 rial Fund for use by the American Battle Monuments

25 Commission in accordance with subsection (b).
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1 (b) USE OF PROCEEDS.—

2 (1) COSTS RELATING TO THE KOREAN WAR

3 VETERANS MEMORIAL.—Except as provided in para4 graph (2), amounts deposited in the Korean War

5 Veterans Memorial Fund pursuant to subsection (a)

6 shall be available to the American Battle Monuments

7 Commission for the uses described in section 8(b) of

8 Public Law 101–495.

9 (2) CEREMONY FOR THE 65TH REGIMENT.—

10 The American Battle Monuments Commission shall

11 use such amount of the surcharges from the sale of

12 coins issued as the Commission determines to be

13 necessary and appropriate, after consulting with the

14 National Congress for Puerto Rican Veterans, the

15 Puerto Rican Veterans In Massachusetts Associa16 tion, and the Puerto Rican-American Research Insti17 tute, to conduct a ceremony at the Korean War Vet18 erans Memorial commemorating the Puerto Ricans

19 comprising the 65th Infantry Regiment of the Unit20 ed States Army for their service and contributions

21 during the Korean conflict.

22 (c) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United

23 States shall have the right to examine such books, records,

24 documents, and other data of the American Battle Monu-
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1 ments Commission as may be related to the expenditures

2 of amounts paid under subsection (a).

3 SEC. 9. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.

4 (a) NO NET COST TO THE GOVERNMENT.—The Sec5 retary shall take such actions as may be necessary to en6 sure that minting and issuing coins under this Act will

7 not result in any net cost to the United States Govern8 ment.

9 (b) PAYMENT FOR COINS.—A coin shall not be issued

10 under this Act unless the Secretary has received—

11 (1) full payment for the coin;

12 (2) security satisfactory to the Secretary to in13 demnify the United States for full payment; or

14 (3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to

15 the Secretary from a depository institution whose

16 deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insur17 ance Corporation or the National Credit Union Ad18 ministration Board.

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