II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 239 

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

Christa McAuliffe. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 28, 2019 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. HASSAN) 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 coins 

in recognition of Christa McAuliffe. 

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 ‘‘Christa McAuliffe 

5 Commemorative Coin Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Christa McAuliffe was a social studies 

9 teacher at Concord High School in Concord, New 

10 Hampshire. 


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1 (2) In 1985, Christa McAuliffe was selected to 

2 be the first participant in the Teacher in Space pro3 gram of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin4 istration. 

5 (3) On January 28, 1986, Christa McAuliffe 

6 and 6 other astronauts were tragically killed during 

7 the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. 

8 (4) In 1989, For Inspiration and Recognition of 

9 Science and Technology (in this Act referred to as 

10 ‘‘FIRST’’) was founded to inspire young people’s in11 terest and participation in science and technology. 

12 (5) The mission of FIRST ‘‘is to inspire young 

13 people to be science and technology leaders, by en14 gaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that 

15 build science, engineering, and technology skills, that 

16 inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life 

17 capabilities including self-confidence, communication, 

18 and leadership’’. 

19 (6) 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the 

20 founding of FIRST. 

21 (7) Each year, more than 1,000,000 children 

22 from the United States and more than 86 countries 

23 participate in a FIRST program. 


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1 (8) Studies have shown that alumni of FIRST 

2 programs are more likely to become scientists and 

3 engineers and to volunteer in their communities. 

4 (9) FIRST is dedicated to carrying on the mis5 sion of Christa McAuliffe of inspiring students and 

6 creating a new generation of dreamers and innova7 tors. 

8 (10) 2016 marked the 30th anniversary of the 

9 Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy. 

10 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

11 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In commemoration of Christa 

12 McAuliffe, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter re13 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and 

14 issue not more than 350,000 $1 coins, each of which 

15 shall— 

16 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

17 (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 

18 (3) contain at least 90 percent silver. 

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

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

21 title 31, United States Code. 

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

23 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

24 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis25 matic 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 bear— 

5 (A) an image of and the name of Christa 

6 McAuliffe on the obverse side; and 

7 (B) a design on the reverse side that de8 picts the legacy of Christa McAuliffe as a teach9 er. 

10 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

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

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

13 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2020’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer16 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

18 under this Act shall be— 

19 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

20 with the family of Christa McAuliffe, FIRST, and 

21 the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

22 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

23 Committee. 

24 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

26 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 


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

2 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

3 of the coins minted under this Act. 

4 (c) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

5 issue coins under this Act only during the period begin6 ning on January 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 

7 2020. 

8 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

11 of— 

12 (1) the face value of the coins; 

13 (2) the surcharge provided under section 7(a) 

14 with respect to the coins; and 

15 (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins, 

16 including— 

17 (A) labor; 

18 (B) materials; 

19 (C) dies; 

20 (D) use of machinery; 

21 (E) overhead expenses; 

22 (F) marketing; and 

23 (G) shipping. 


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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 the 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 $10 per coin. 

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

15 title 31, United States Code, and section 8(2), all sur16 charges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins 

17 issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Sec18 retary to the FIRST robotics program for the purpose of 

19 engaging and inspiring young people, through mentor20 based programs, to become leaders in the fields of science, 

21 technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

22 (c) AUDITS.—The FIRST robotics program shall be 

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

24 title 31, United States Code, with respect to the amounts 

25 received under subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

2 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec3 essary to ensure that— 

4 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act re5 sult in no net cost to the Federal Government; and 

6 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

7 are disbursed to any recipient designated in section 

8 7(b) until the total cost of designing and issuing all 

9 of the coins authorized by this Act, including labor, 

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

11 marketing, and shipping, is recovered by the United 

12 States Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) 

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

Æ 


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