I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2404 

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

of Cesar Chavez’s work for the betterment of legal workers, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2021 

Mr. GOSAR 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 Cesar Chavez’s work for the betterment of legal workers, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Cesar Chavez Com5 memorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Cesar Chavez was born on March 31, 1927, 

9 in Yuma, Arizona. 


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1 (2) In 1962, Chavez founded the National 

2 Farm Workers Association, which later became the 

3 United Farm Workers, to improve the wages and 

4 working conditions for American farmworkers. 

5 (3) Chavez’s union drew on the imagery of civil 

6 rights to use nonviolence and mass mobilization to 

7 improve the conditions of persecuted and impover8 ished American workers. 

9 (4) Chavez believed that preventing illegal im10 migration was an essential prerequisite to improving 

11 the circumstances of American farmworkers. 

12 (5) In 1969, Chavez led a march to the Mexi13 can border to protest illegal immigration, joined by 

14 Senator Walter Mondale and Martin Luther King’s 

15 successor as head of the Southern Christian Leader16 ship Conference, Ralph Abernathy. 

17 (6) Chavez noted that it is ‘‘almost impossible 

18 to start some effective program to get these people 

19 their jobs back from the braceros’’ once employers 

20 replace them. 

21 (7) In the 1970s, Chavez combined a campaign 

22 of identifying and reporting illegal workers with a 

23 campaign to boycott nonunionized farms in order to 

24 protect the labor of the unionized American worker. 


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1 (8) Chavez recognized that flooding the labor 

2 market with people from abroad undermines the 

3 unionized American worker. 

4 (9) In 1979, at the National Press Club, Cha5 vez emphatically supported enforcement of immigra6 tion laws, stating that ‘‘people are being hurt and 

7 being destroyed, and with the complicity and with 

8 the help, of the Federal Government’’. 

9 (10) President Clinton recognized Chavez’s 

10 work saying, ‘‘We can be proud of his enormous ac11 complishments and in the dignity and comfort he 

12 brought to the lives of so many of our country’s 

13 least powerful and most dispossessed workers.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

15 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas16 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

17 shall mint and issue the following coin: 

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) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

20 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of Cesar 

21 Chavez and his fight to defend the interests of 

22 American farmworkers, his birth in Yuma, Arizona, 

23 and his commitment to and work for American agri24 cultural workers. At least one coin design shall in25 clude the name and likeliness of Cesar Chavez. 


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1 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

2 each coin minted under this Act, there shall be— 

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

4 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2024’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer7 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

9 under this Act shall be— 

10 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

11 with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Smithso12 nian Institution; and 

13 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

14 Committee. 

15 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

17 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

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

20 period beginning on January 1, 2024. 

21 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

24 of— 

25 (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 issued under this 

18 Act shall include a surcharge of— 

19 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; 

20 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and 

21 (3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin. 

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

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

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

25 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the SmithsoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2404.IH H2404

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1 nian Institution to support the development, maintenance, 

2 and repair of the National Museum of the American 

3 Latino, and for educational and commemorative programs 

4 of American Latino heritage and culture. 

5 (c) AUDITS.—The Smithsonian Institution shall be 

6 subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of 

7 title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts 

8 received under subsection (b). 

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

10 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

12 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

13 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro14 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

15 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

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

17 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec18 retary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

19 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

20 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec21 essary to ensure that— 

22 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

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

24 Government; and 


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1 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

2 shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec3 tion 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing 

4 all of the coins authorized by this Act (including 

5 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex6 penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the 

7 United States Treasury, consistent with sections 

8 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 

9 Code. 

Æ 


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