IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6751 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 5, 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Roberto Clemente 

3 Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Roberto Clemente Walker was born on Au7 gust 18, 1934, to Don Melchor Clemente and Luisa 

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

9 as the youngest of 7 children. 

10 (2) Clemente excelled in athletics as a young11 ster and, at the age of 17, was playing for the 

12 Santurce Cangrejeros ‘‘Crabbers’’ of the Puerto 

13 Rican Baseball League. 

14 (3) In 1954, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected 

15 Clemente in the first round of the Major League 

16 Baseball Rule 5 draft. 

17 (4) Pirates center fielder Earl Smith wore jer18 sey number 21 until he parted ways with the team 

19 in April 1955, and Clemente wore number 13 until 

20 then. 

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

22 debut as he went on to play for the Pittsburgh Pi23 rates, starting as a right fielder. 

24 (6) When the team traveled to Richmond, Vir25 ginia, for games or Florida for spring training, 

26 Clemente encountered Jim Crow laws for the first 


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1 time when the Black players had to stay at a sepa2 rate, inferior hotel and were refused the option to 

3 dine with their White counterparts. 

4 (7) Clemente was known for being a proud 

5 Afro-Latino and protested the discrimination that 

6 Latin and Black ball players encountered. 

7 (8) Clemente was known for defending the 

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

9 and in the streets. 

10 (9) After the assassination of Martin Luther 

11 King, Jr., in 1968, Clemente and his teammates re12 fused to play until after the funerals and even wrote 

13 a public statement showing their respect for Dr. 

14 King. 

15 (10) Clemente became a union leader in the in16 cipient Major League Baseball Players Association 

17 and defended players’ rights to demand better work18 ing conditions and benefits. 

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

20 Clemente visited sick children in hospitals. 

21 (12) Clemente established training clinics, pro22 viding baseball lessons and fun for boys and girls in 

23 Pittsburgh, his home island of Puerto Rico, and 

24 throughout Latin America. 


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

2 States Marine Corps Reserve after the 1958 season 

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

4 South Carolina, and Camp LeJeune, North Caro5 lina. 

6 (14) Clemente served until 1964 and was in7 ducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame 

8 in 2003. 

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

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

11 15 All-Star teams, and won 12 Gold Gloves, 2 World 

12 Series, and a National League MVP award. 

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

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

15 posted a lifetime .317 batting average. 

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

17 ravaged Managua, Nicaragua, and killed 5,000 peo18 ple. 

19 (18) In his philanthropic spirit, Clemente sent 

20 shipments of humanitarian aid to the country. 

21 (19) After learning that 3 previous shipments 

22 had been diverted by corrupt Somoza Government 

23 officials, Clemente decided to accompany one of the 

24 aid shipments. 


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

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

3 the Atlantic Ocean immediately after takeoff from 

4 the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. 

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

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

7 (22) Since 1973, Major League Baseball gives 

8 out the Roberto Clemente Award to one player in 

9 the league who ‘‘best exemplifies the game of base10 ball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the 

11 individual’s contribution to his team’’. 

12 (23) In 2002, Major League Baseball declared 

13 the first annual Roberto Clemente Day. 

14 (24) In 2021, Major League Baseball an15 nounced September 15 would be the permanent date 

16 of Roberto Clemente Day to coincide with the begin17 ning of Hispanic Heritage month. 

18 (25) Clemente was the first Latino player to ac19 complish many feats in Major League Baseball. 

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

21 first person of Latino heritage, to win a World Se22 ries as a starter, be named league MVP, be named 

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

24 Fame. 


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1 (27) Clemente was posthumously elected to the 

2 National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, being the 

3 first National League baseball player to receive the 

4 mandatory 5-year waiting period waiver. 

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

6 a baseball star, a humanitarian activist, and a sym7 bol of Latin American pride; 

8 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

9 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas10 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

11 shall mint and issue the following coin: 

12 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 

13 coins, which shall— 

14 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

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

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

17 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 

18 $1 coins, which shall— 

19 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

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

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

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

24 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

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


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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. DESIGN 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 life 

15 of Roberto Clemente including his human rights ac16 tivism and baseball stardom legacy. At least one ob17 verse design shall bear the image of Roberto 

18 Clemente. 

19 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

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

21 (A) an inscription of Roberto Clemente; 

22 (B) a designation of the denomination of 

23 the coin; 

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


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

2 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer3 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

5 under this Act shall be— 

6 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

7 with the Roberto Clemente Foundation, Roberto 

8 Clemente’s living family members, and the Commis9 sion of the Fine Arts; and 

10 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

11 Committee. 

12 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

14 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

16 issue coins under this Act only during the calendar year 

17 beginning on January 1, 2027. 

18 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

21 of— 

22 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

24 respect to such coins; and 


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

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

3 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

6 discount. 

7 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

9 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

10 before the issuance of such coins. 

11 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre12 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea13 sonable discount. 

14 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

16 Act shall include a surcharge of— 

17 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; 

18 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and 

19 (3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin. 

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

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

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

23 shall be paid to the Roberto Clemente Foundation for ap24 plication to general expenses associated with the fulfill25 ment of the mission of the Roberto Clemente Foundation 


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1 including for costs associated with educational, youth 

2 sports, and disaster relief historic preservation— 

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

4 shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 

5 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard 

6 to the amounts received under subsection (b). 

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

8 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

10 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

11 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro12 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

13 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

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

15 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec16 retary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

17 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

18 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec19 essary to ensure that— 

20 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

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

22 Government; and 

23 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

24 shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec25 tion 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing 


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1 all of the coins authorized by this Act (including 

2 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex3 penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the 

4 United States Treasury, consistent with sections 

5 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 

6 Code. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 4, 

2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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