116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 239 

AN ACT 

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, 
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†S 239 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Christa McAuliffe 

3 Commemorative Coin Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Christa McAuliffe was a social studies 

7 teacher at Concord High School in Concord, New 

8 Hampshire. 

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

10 be the first participant in the Teacher in Space pro11 gram of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin12 istration. 

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

14 and 6 other astronauts were tragically killed during 

15 the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. 

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

17 Science and Technology (in this Act referred to as 

18 ‘‘FIRST’’) was founded to inspire young people’s in19 terest and participation in science and technology. 

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

21 people to be science and technology leaders, by en22 gaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that 

23 build science, engineering, and technology skills, that 

24 inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life 

25 capabilities including self-confidence, communication, 

26 and leadership’’. 
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†S 239 ES

1 (6) 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the 

2 founding of FIRST. 

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

4 from the United States and more than 86 countries 

5 participate in a FIRST program. 

6 (8) Studies have shown that alumni of FIRST 

7 programs are more likely to become scientists and 

8 engineers and to volunteer in their communities. 

9 (9) FIRST is dedicated to carrying on the mis10 sion of Christa McAuliffe of inspiring students and 

11 creating a new generation of dreamers and innova12 tors. 

13 (10) 2016 marked the 30th anniversary of the 

14 Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy. 

15 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

16 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In commemoration of Christa 

17 McAuliffe, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter re18 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and 

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

20 shall— 

21 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

23 (3) contain at least 90 percent silver. 
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†S 239 ES

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

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

3 title 31, United States Code. 

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

5 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

6 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis7 matic items. 

8 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

9 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The design of the coins 

11 minted under this Act shall bear— 

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

13 McAuliffe on the obverse side; and 

14 (B) a design on the reverse side that de15 picts the legacy of Christa McAuliffe as a teach16 er. 

17 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

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

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

20 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2021’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer23 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

25 under this Act shall be— 
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†S 239 ES

1 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

2 with the family of Christa McAuliffe, FIRST, and 

3 the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

4 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

5 Committee. 

6 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

8 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

10 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

11 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

13 issue coins under this Act only during the period begin14 ning on January 1, 2021, and ending on December 31, 

15 2021. 

16 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

19 of— 

20 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

22 with respect to the coins; and 

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

24 including— 

25 (A) labor; 
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†S 239 ES

1 (B) materials; 

2 (C) dies; 

3 (D) use of machinery; 

4 (E) overhead expenses; 

5 (F) marketing; and 

6 (G) shipping. 

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

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

9 discount. 

10 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

12 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

13 before the issuance of the coins. 

14 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre15 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea16 sonable discount. 

17 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

19 Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin. 

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

21 title 31, United States Code, and section 8(2), all sur22 charges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins 

23 issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Sec24 retary to the FIRST robotics program for the purpose of 

25 engaging and inspiring young people, through mentor- 
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†S 239 ES

1 based programs, to become leaders in the fields of science, 

2 technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

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

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

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

6 received under subsection (b). 

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 re11 sult in no net cost to the Federal Government; and 

12 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

13 are disbursed to any recipient designated in section 

14 7(b) until the total cost of designing and issuing all 

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

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

17 marketing, and shipping, is recovered by the United 

18 States Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) 

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

Passed the Senate July 9, 2019. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 239 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 

coins in recognition of Christa McAuliffe.