I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6751 

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

recognition of the life and legacy of Roberto Clemente. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 13, 2023 

Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself, Mrs. GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, Mr. DELUZIO, and Mr. 

RESCHENTHALER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in recognition of the life and legacy of Roberto Clemente. 

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 ‘‘Roberto Clemente 

5 Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Roberto Clemente Walker was born on Au9 gust 18, 1934, to Don Melchor Clemente and Luisa 

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1 Walker in Barrio San Anto ́n, Carolina, Puerto Rico, 

2 as the youngest of 7 children. 

3 (2) Clemente excelled in athletics as a young4 ster and, at the age of 17, was playing for the 

5 Santurce Cangrejeros ‘‘Crabbers’’ of the Puerto 

6 Rican Baseball League. 

7 (3) In 1954, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected 

8 Clemente in the first round of the Major League 

9 Baseball Rule 5 draft. 

10 (4) Pirates center fielder Earl Smith wore jer11 sey number 21 until he parted ways with the team 

12 in April 1955, and Clemente wore number 13 until 

13 then. 

14 (5) In 1955, Clemente made his Major League 

15 debut as he went on to play for the Pittsburgh Pi16 rates, starting as a right fielder. 

17 (6) When the team traveled to Richmond, Vir18 ginia, for games or Florida for spring training, 

19 Clemente encountered Jim Crow laws for the first 

20 time when the Black players had to stay at a sepa21 rate, inferior hotel and were refused the option to 

22 dine with their White counterparts. 

23 (7) Clemente was known for being a proud 

24 Afro-Latino and protested the discrimination that 

25 Latin and Black ball players encountered. 

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1 (8) Clemente was known for defending the 

2 rights of Black and Brown people, both on the field 

3 and in the streets. 

4 (9) After the assassination of Martin Luther 

5 King, Jr., in 1968, Clemente and his teammates re6 fused to play until after the funerals and even wrote 

7 a public statement showing their respect for Dr. 

8 King. 

9 (10) Clemente became a union leader in the in10 cipient Major League Baseball Players Association 

11 and defended players’ rights to demand better work12 ing conditions and benefits. 

13 (11) In every city where the Pirates played, 

14 Clemente visited sick children in hospitals. 

15 (12) Clemente established training clinics, pro16 viding baseball lessons and fun for boys and girls in 

17 Pittsburgh, his home island of Puerto Rico, and 

18 throughout Latin America. 

19 (13) In 1958, Clemente enlisted in the United 

20 States Marine Corps Reserve after the 1958 season 

21 and spent 6 months on active duty at Parris Island, 

22 South Carolina, and Camp LeJeune, North Caro23 lina. 

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1 (14) Clemente served until 1964 and was in2 ducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame 

3 in 2003. 

4 (15) By the end of his career, Clemente had 

5 joined the exclusive 3,000-hit club, was selected to 

6 15 All-Star teams, and won 12 Gold Gloves, 2 World 

7 Series, and a National League MVP award. 

8 (16) In Clemente’s 18 seasons with Pittsburgh 

9 he won 4 batting titles, hit 240 home runs, and 

10 posted a lifetime .317 batting average. 

11 (17) In late 1972, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake 

12 ravaged Managua, Nicaragua, and killed 5,000 peo13 ple. 

14 (18) In his philanthropic spirit, Clemente sent 

15 shipments of humanitarian aid to the country. 

16 (19) After learning that 3 previous shipments 

17 had been diverted by corrupt Somoza Government 

18 officials, Clemente decided to accompany one of the 

19 aid shipments. 

20 (20) The four-engine DC–7 plane Clemente 

21 chartered for a flight on New Year’s Eve crashed in 

22 the Atlantic Ocean immediately after takeoff from 

23 the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. 

24 (21) On December 31, 1972, Clemente died in 

25 the plane crash at the age of 38 years young. 

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1 (22) Since 1973, Major League Baseball gives 

2 out the Roberto Clemente Award to one player in 

3 the league who ‘‘best exemplifies the game of base4 ball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the 

5 individual’s contribution to his team’’. 

6 (23) In 2002, Major League Baseball declared 

7 the first annual Roberto Clemente Day. 

8 (24) In 2021, Major League Baseball an9 nounced September 15 would be the permanent date 

10 of Roberto Clemente Day to coincide with the begin11 ning of Hispanic Heritage month. 

12 (25) Clemente was the first Latino player to ac13 complish many feats in Major League Baseball. 

14 (26) Clemente was the first Puerto Rican, and 

15 first person of Latino heritage, to win a World Se16 ries as a starter, be named league MVP, be named 

17 World Series MVP, and be elected to the Hall of 

18 Fame. 

19 (27) Clemente was posthumously elected to the 

20 National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, being the 

21 first National League baseball player to receive the 

22 mandatory 5-year waiting period waiver. 

23 (28) Clemente was a legend in life and death, 

24 a baseball star, a humanitarian activist, and a sym25 bol of Latin American pride; 

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1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas3 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

4 shall mint and issue the following coin: 

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

6 coins, which shall— 

7 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

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

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

10 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 

11 $1 coins, which shall— 

12 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

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

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

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

17 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

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

19 (C) be minted to the specifications for half20 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

21 31, United States Code. 

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

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

24 title 31, United States Code. 

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

26 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

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1 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis2 matic items. 

3 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

4 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

6 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the life 

7 of Roberto Clemente including his human rights ac8 tivism and baseball stardom legacy. At least one ob9 verse design shall bear the image of Roberto 

10 Clemente. 

11 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

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

13 (A) an inscription of Roberto Clemente; 

14 (B) a designation of the denomination of 

15 the coin; 

16 (C) an inscription of the year ‘‘2027’’; and 

17 (D) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 

18 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer19 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

21 under this Act shall be— 

22 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

23 with the Roberto Clemente Foundation, Roberto 

24 Clemente’s living family members, and the Commis25 sion of the Fine Arts; and 

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1 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

2 Committee. 

3 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

5 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

7 issue coins under this Act only during the calendar year 

8 beginning on January 1, 2027. 

9 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

12 of— 

13 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

15 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

18 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

21 discount. 

22 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

24 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

25 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 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

6 Act shall include a surcharge of— 

7 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; 

8 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and 

9 (3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin. 

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

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

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

13 shall be paid to the Roberto Clemente Foundation for ap14 plication to general expenses associated with the fulfill15 ment of the mission of the Roberto Clemente Foundation 

16 including for costs associated with educational, youth 

17 sports, and disaster relief historic preservation— 

18 (c) AUDITS.—The Roberto Clemente Foundation, 

19 shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 

20 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard 

21 to the amounts received under subsection (b). 

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

23 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

25 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

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1 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro2 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

3 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

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

5 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec6 retary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

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 shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec15 tion 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing 

16 all of the coins authorized by this Act (including 

17 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex18 penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the 

19 United States Treasury, consistent with sections 

20 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 

21 Code. 

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