I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3109

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

of Celia Cruz. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2003

Mr. WELLER (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

of Florida, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. NUNES, and Mr. 

MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of Celia Cruz.

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 ‘‘Celia Cruz Commemo5 rative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress hereby finds as follows: 
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1 (1) Celia Cruz began singing in amateur con2 tests in her hometown of Havana, Cuba, at the age 

3 of 14. 

4 (2) During this period Cruz studied music the5 ory, piano and voice at Cuba’s National Music Con6 servatory. 

7 (3) During the 1950’s, Cruz became an accom8 plished music talent and recording artist in Cuba 

9 and beyond the island’s shores. 

10 (4) On July 15, 1960, Cruz, her husband, and 

11 the members of her band fled Cuba for the United 

12 States to escape the oppressive regime of Fidel Cas13 tro. 

14 (5) Cruz and her husband worked and lived in 

15 the United States and became naturalized American 

16 citizens. 

17 (6) Cruz’ successful career in the entertainment 

18 industry spanned over 5 decades and she is widely 

19 known around the globe as ‘‘The Queen of Salsa’’. 

20 (7) Cruz recorded over 70 records during her 

21 career, earning multiple Grammy Awards and a Bill22 board Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award in 

23 1995. 
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1 (8) Cruz has also won numerous Latin Grammy 

2 Awards and other music industry recognitions that 

3 include a myriad of platinum albums. 

4 (9) Cruz has been honored with a Lifetime 

5 Achievement Award by the Smithsonian Institution 

6 and, in 1994, President Clinton presented Cruz with 

7 the National Medal of the Arts, the United States 

8 highest tribute in the arts community. 

9 (10) Celia Cruz was a champion of freedom and 

10 artistic expression who dedicated herself to helping 

11 others. 

12 (11) During the summer of 2002, a foundation 

13 was established in her name, the Celia Cruz Founda14 tion, helping to realize her dream of providing finan15 cial aid to low-income students who wish to study 

16 music and to assist cancer victims. 

17 (12) Celia Cruz, whose music, energy, and hap18 piness made her a role model for generations of 

19 Americans and inspired audiences around the world, 

20 died on July 16, 2003 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. 

21 (13) In 2008, the world will mark the 5th anni22 versary of her death and it will be an appropriate 

23 time to remember her achievements and lasting mu24 sical works and charitable legacy. 
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1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In commemoration of the 

3 achievements and lasting musical works and charitable 

4 legacy of Celia Cruz, the Secretary of the Treasury (here5 inafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

6 mint and issue the following coins: 

7 (1) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 300,000 

8 $1 coins which shall—

9 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

11 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per12 cent copper. 

13 (2) HALF DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more 

14 than 500,000 half dollar coins which shall—

15 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

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

17 (C) be minted to the specifications for half 

18 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

19 31, United States Code. 

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

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

22 title 31, United States Code. 

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

24 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

25 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
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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 Celia 

5 Cruz and her lasting legacy.

6 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

7 each coin minted under this Act there shall be—

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

9 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2008’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer12 ica’’, ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’, and ‘‘The Queen of 

13 Salsa’’. 

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

15 under this Act shall be—

16 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

17 with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Celia 

18 Cruz Foundation; and 

19 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

20 Committee. 

21 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

23 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

25 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

26 of the coins minted under this Act. 
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1 (c) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary 

2 may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 

3 1, 2008. 

4 (d) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No 

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

6 2008. 

7 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

10 of—

11 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

13 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

16 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

19 discount. 

20 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.—

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

22 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

23 before the issuance of such coins. 
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1 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre2 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea3 sonable discount. 

4 (d) MARKETING.—The Secretary, in cooperation with 

5 the Celia Cruz Foundation, shall develop and implement 

6 a marketing program to promote and sell the coins issued 

7 under this Act both within the United States and inter8 nationally. 

9 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

11 this Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 

12 (1) $10 per coin for the $1 coin. 

13 (2) $3 per coin for the half dollar coin. 

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

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

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

17 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Celia Cruz 

18 Foundation, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to offering 

19 financial aid to under-privileged students who wish to 

20 study music as well as funding efforts in the fight against 

21 cancer, for the purpose of supporting the programs of the 

22 Foundation. 

23 (c) AUDITS.—The Celia Cruz Foundation shall be 

24 subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of 
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1 title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts 

2 received by the Foundation under subsection (b).

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