II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 789 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a coin in recognition 

of the 100th anniversary of the United States Foreign Service and 

its contribution to United States diplomacy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2023 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself and Mr. SULLIVAN) 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 a coin 

in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the United 

States Foreign Service and its contribution to United 

States diplomacy. 

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 ‘‘United States Foreign 

5 Service Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 789 IS

1 (1) On September 15, 1789, the 1st United 

2 States Congress passed an Act creating the Depart3 ment of State and appointing duties to it, including 

4 the keeping of the Great Seal of the United States. 

5 Initially there were 2 services devoted to diplomatic 

6 and to consular activity. The Diplomatic Service pro7 vided ambassadors and staff for embassies overseas, 

8 while the Consular Service provided consuls to assist 

9 United States sailors and promote international 

10 trade and commerce. 

11 (2) After World War I ended, Congress com12 plemented the earlier efforts for Civil Service reform, 

13 interrupted by World War I, to create a career, pro14 fessional diplomatic service. Representative John 

15 Jacob Rogers of Massachusetts introduced his first 

16 Foreign Service reform bill in 1919, followed by sev17 eral others. He was strongly supported in his efforts 

18 by Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes. The 

19 legislation provided improvements in the Diplomatic 

20 and Consular Services to attract highly qualified 

21 candidates ‘‘by keen competition’’. The objective was 

22 to create ‘‘a real diplomatic career, open to any 

23 American citizen who has the necessary qualifica24 tions’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 789 IS

1 (3) The Act entitled ‘‘An Act for the reorga2 nization and improvement of the Foreign Service of 

3 the United States, and for other purposes’’, ap4 proved May 24, 1924 (43 Stat. 140, chapter 182) 

5 (commonly known as the ‘‘Rogers Act of 1924’’), 

6 unified the Diplomatic and Consular Services in one 

7 career organization based on competitive examina8 tion and merit promotion. It was named the ‘‘For9 eign Service of the United States of America’’. 

10 President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill into law on 

11 May 24, 1924. The first class of new Foreign Serv12 ice officers was held in 1925. 

13 (4) The Foreign Service of the United States is 

14 the primary United States Federal Government pro15 fessional cadre of generalists and specialists charged 

16 with the conduct of United States diplomacy under 

17 the aegis of the United States Department of State. 

18 It consists of more than 15,000 career professionals 

19 carrying out the foreign policy of the United States 

20 and aiding United States citizens abroad. 

21 (5) In 1946, after World War II, Congress 

22 passed the Foreign Service Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 

23 999, chapter 957) to update the 1924 Rogers Act. 

24 (6) In 1980, the Congress again updated the 

25 Rogers Act, passing the Foreign Service Act of 1980 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 789 IS

1 (22 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.), to promote the foreign pol2 icy of the United States by strengthening and im3 proving the Foreign Service of the United States. 

4 (7) Since the creation of the United States For5 eign Service, generations of Foreign Service mem6 bers and families have represented the United States 

7 around the world, in peace and war. Over 320 

8 names are inscribed in the memorial plaques erected 

9 by the American Foreign Service Association and lo10 cated in the lobby of the Harry S. Truman Building, 

11 the headquarters of the Department of State, to 

12 honor ‘‘diplomatic and consular officers of the 

13 United States who while on active duty lost their 

14 lives under heroic or tragic circumstances’’. 

15 (8) The Association for Diplomatic Studies and 

16 Training is dedicated to capturing, preserving, and 

17 sharing the experiences of United States diplomats. 

18 The Association has created, managed, and main19 tained a Foreign Affairs Oral History program con20 sisting of more than 2,600 first-person oral histories 

21 of United States diplomats to capture and share the 

22 legacy and contributions of modern United States 

23 diplomacy. The Association is a nongovernmental, 

24 member-based, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization 

25 housed on the campus of the George P. Shultz NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S789.IS S789

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 789 IS

1 tional Foreign Affairs Training Center and depend2 ent on funds from members, donations, contracts, 

3 and grants to sustain its work. 

4 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

5 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In celebration of diplomacy 

6 and in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the United 

7 States Foreign Service, the Secretary of the Treasury 

8 (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

9 mint and issue the following coins: 

10 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 

11 coins, which shall— 

12 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

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

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

15 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 

16 $1 coins, which shall— 

17 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

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

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

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

22 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

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


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 789 IS

1 (C) be minted to the specifications for half2 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

3 31, United States Code. 

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

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

6 title 31, United States Code. 

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

8 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

9 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis10 matic items. 

11 SEC. 4. DESIGNS OF COINS. 

12 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The designs of the coins 

14 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the im15 portance of diplomacy to the national interest of the 

16 United States and of the creation of the United 

17 States Foreign Service and its contributions to mod18 ern diplomacy in the United States. 

19 (2) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

20 each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

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

22 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2025’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer25 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 789 IS

1 (b) SELECTION.—The designs for the coins minted 

2 under this Act shall be— 

3 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

4 with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and 

5 Training and the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

6 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

7 Committee. 

8 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

10 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

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

13 period beginning on January 1, 2025. 

14 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

17 of— 

18 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

20 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

23 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 789 IS

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

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

3 discount. 

4 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

6 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

7 before the issuance of such coins. 

8 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre9 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea10 sonable discount. 

11 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 

13 Act shall include a surcharge of— 

14 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coins; 

15 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coins; and 

16 (3) $5 for the half dollar coins. 

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

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

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

20 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Association 

21 for Diplomatic Studies and Training to support the collec22 tion, curation, and sharing of diplomatic history in the 

23 United States via oral history, books, social media, and 

24 other means. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 789 IS

1 (c) AUDITS.—The Association for Diplomatic Studies 

2 and Training shall be subject to the audit requirements 

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

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

5 (d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

6 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

8 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

9 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro10 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

11 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

12 section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in 

13 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec14 retary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

15 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

16 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec17 essary to ensure that— 

18 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

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

20 Government; and 

21 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

22 are disbursed to the recipient designated in section 

23 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of 

24 the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, 

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


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 789 IS

1 marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United 

2 States Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) 

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

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS