II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2217

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

of the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian

Institution, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 8, 2000

Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself, Mr. INOUYE and Mr. LOTT) 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 commemoration of the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institution, 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 ‘‘National Museum of

5 the American Indian Commemorative Coin Act of 2000’’,

6 or the ‘‘American Buffalo Coin Commemorative Coin Act

7 of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the Smithsonian Institution was established

4 in 1846, with funds bequeathed to the United States

5 by James Smithson for the ‘‘increase and diffusion

6 of knowledge’’;

7 (2) once established, the Smithsonian Institu8 tion became an important part of the process of de9 veloping the United States national identity, an on10 going role which continues today;

11 (3) the Smithsonian Institution, which is now

12 the world’s largest museum complex, including 16

13 museums, 4 research centers, and the National Zoo,

14 is visited by millions of Americans and people from

15 all over the world each year;

16 (4) the National Museum of the American In17 dian of the Smithsonian Institution (referred to in

18 this section as the ‘‘NMAI’’) was established by an

19 Act of Congress in 1989, in Public Law 101–185;

20 (5) the purpose of the NMAI, as established by

21 Congress, is to—

22 (A) advance the study of Native Ameri23 cans, including the study of language, lit24 erature, history, art, anthropology, and life;
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1 (B) collect, preserve, and exhibit Native

2 American objects of artistic, historical, literary,

3 anthropological, and scientific interest; and

4 (C) provide for Native American research

5 and study programs;

6 (6) the NMAI works in cooperation with Native

7 Americans and oversees a collection that spans more

8 than 10,000 years of American history;

9 (7) it is fitting that the NMAI will be located

10 in a place of honor near the United States Capitol,

11 and on the National Mall;

12 (8) thousands of Americans, including many

13 American Indians, came from all over the Nation to

14 witness the groundbreaking ceremony for the NMAI

15 on September 28, 1999;

16 (9) the NMAI is scheduled to open in the sum17 mer of 2002;

18 (10) the original 5-cent buffalo nickel, as de19 signed by James Earle Fraser and minted from

20 1913 through 1938, which portrays a profile rep21 resentation of a Native American on the obverse side

22 and a representation of an American buffalo on the

23 reverse side, is a distinctive and appropriate model

24 for a coin to commemorate the NMAI; and
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1 (11) the surcharge proceeds from the sale of a

2 commemorative coin, which would have no net cost

3 to the taxpayers, would raise valuable funding for

4 the opening of the NMAI and help to supplement

5 the endowment and educational outreach funds of

6 the NMAI.

7 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

8 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—In commemoration of the

9 opening of the Museum of the American Indian of the

10 Smithsonian Institution, the Secretary of the Treasury

11 (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall

12 mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins, each of

13 which shall—

14 (1) weigh 26.73 grams;

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

16 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent

17 copper.

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

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

20 title 31, United States Code.

21 SEC. 4. SOURCES OF BULLION.

22 The Secretary may obtain silver for minting coins

23 under this Act from any available source, including stock24 piles established under the Strategic and Critical Mate25 rials Stock Piling Act.
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1 SEC. 5. DESIGN OF COINS.

2 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

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

4 minted under this Act shall be based on the original

5 5-cent buffalo nickel designed by James Earle Fra6 ser and minted from 1913 through 1938. Each coin

7 shall have on the obverse side a profile representa8 tion of a Native American, and on the reverse side,

9 a representation of an American buffalo (also known

10 as a bison).

11 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On

12 each coin minted under this Act there shall be—

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

14 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2001’’; and

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

16 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer17 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’.

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

19 under this Act shall be—

20 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation

21 with the Commission of Fine Arts; and

22 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative

23 Coin Advisory Committee.

24 SEC. 6. 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.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Only 1 facility of the United

3 States Mint may be used to strike any particular

4 quality of the coins minted under this Act.

5 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

6 the Congress that the United States Mint facility in

7 Denver, Colorado should strike the coins authorized

8 by this Act, unless the Secretary determines that

9 such action would be technically or cost-prohibitive.

10 (c) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary

11 may issue coins minted under this Act beginning on Janu12 ary 1, 2001.

13 (d) TERMINATION OF MINTING.—No coins may be

14 minted under this Act after December 31, 2001.

15 SEC. 7. SALE OF COINS.

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

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

18 of—

19 (1) the face value of the coins;

20 (2) the surcharge required by subsection (d)

21 with respect to such coins; and

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

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

24 overhead expenses, marketing, and 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 such coins.

8 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre9 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea10 sonable discount.

11 (d) SURCHARGES.—All sales of coins minted under

12 this Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin.

13 SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 5134(f) of title

15 31, United States Code, the proceeds from the surcharges

16 received by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued

17 under this Act shall be paid promptly by the Secretary

18 to the National Museum of the American Indian of the

19 Smithsonian Institution for the purposes of—

20 (1) commemorating the opening of the National

21 Museum of the American Indian; and

22 (2) supplementing the endowment and edu23 cational outreach funds of the Museum of the Amer24 ican Indian.
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1 (b) AUDITS.—The National Museum of the American

2 Indian shall be subject to the audit requirements of section

3 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard

4 to the amounts received by the museum under subsection

5 (a).

6 SEC. 9. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.

7 (a) NO NET COST TO THE GOVERNMENT.—The Sec8 retary shall take such actions as may be necessary to en9 sure that minting and issuing coins under this Act will

10 not result in any net cost to the United States Govern11 ment.

12 (b) PAYMENT FOR COINS.—A coin shall not be issued

13 under this Act unless the Secretary has received—

14 (1) full payment for the coin;

15 (2) security satisfactory to the Secretary to in16 demnify the United States for full payment; or

17 (3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to

18 the Secretary from a depository institution, the de19 posits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit

20 Insurance Corporation or the National Credit Union

21 Administration Board.

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