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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2714 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2714

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
                   of the centennial of World War I.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2014

  Mr. Blunt (for himself and Mrs. McCaskill) 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 centennial of World War I.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``World War I American Veterans 
Centennial Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the year 2018 is the 100th anniversary of the signing 
        of the armistice with Germany ending World War I battlefield 
        hostilities;
            (2) on April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I 
        by declaring war against Germany;
            (3) 2,000,000 American soldiers served overseas during 
        World War I;
            (4) more than 4,000,000 men and women from the United 
        States served in uniform during World War I;
            (5) the events of 1914 through 1918 shaped the world and 
        the lives of millions of people for decades;
            (6) more than 9,000,000 soldiers worldwide lost their lives 
        between 1914 and 1918;
            (7) the centennial of the involvement of the United States 
        in World War I offers an opportunity for people in the United 
        States to commemorate the commitment of their predecessors;
            (8) Frank Buckles, the last American veteran from World War 
        I, died on February 27, 2011;
            (9) Mr. Buckles was the last direct American link to the 
        ``war to end all wars'';
            (10) while other great conflicts, including the Civil War, 
        World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, have all 
        been memorialized on United States commemorative coins, there 
        currently is no coin to honor the brave veterans of World War 
        I; and
            (11) the 112th Congress established the World War I 
        Centennial Commission to plan, develop, and execute programs, 
        projects, and activities to commemorate the centennial of World 
        War I.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) commemorate the centennial of the involvement of the 
        United States in World War I; and
            (2) honor the more than 4,000,000 men and women from the 
        United States who served during World War I.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not 
more than 350,000 $1 coins to commemorate the centennial of the 
involvement of the United States in World War I, each of which shall--
            (1) weigh 26.73 grams;
            (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
            (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.
    (b) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be legal 
tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.
    (c) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the centennial of the involvement of 
        the United States in World War I.
            (2) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin minted 
        under this Act, there shall be--
                    (A) a designation of the value of the coin;
                    (B) an inscription of the year ``2018''; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be selected by the Secretary based on the winning design from a 
design competition described in subsection (c).
    (c) Design Competition.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall hold a competition and 
        provide compensation for the winner of the contest to design 
        the obverse and reverse of the coins minted under this Act.
            (2) Manner of competition.--The competition required by 
        this subsection shall be held in the following manner:
                    (A) The competition shall be judged by an expert 
                jury--
                            (i) chaired by the Secretary; and
                            (ii) consisting of--
                                    (I) 3 members from the Citizens 
                                Coinage Advisory Committee, who shall 
                                be elected by the Committee; and
                                    (II) 3 members from the Commission 
                                of Fine Arts, who shall be elected by 
                                the Commission.
                    (B) The Secretary shall determine compensation for 
                the winning design, which shall be not less than 
                $5,000.
                    (C) The Secretary may not accept a design for the 
                competition unless a plaster model accompanies the 
                design.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued 
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
    (b) Mint Facility.--Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may 
be used to strike any particular quality of the coins minted under this 
Act.
    (c) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins under this 
Act only during the period beginning on January 1, 2018, and ending on 
December 31, 2018.

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be sold by 
the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
            (1) the face value of the coins;
            (2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with respect to 
        the coins; and
            (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including 
        labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, 
        marketing, and shipping).
    (b) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins 
issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
    (c) Prepaid Orders.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders 
        for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of the 
        coins.
            (2) Discount.--Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders 
        under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

    (a) In General.--All sales of coins issued under this Act shall 
include a surcharge of $10 per coin.
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 
States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of 
coins issued under this Act shall be paid by the Secretary to the World 
War I Centennial Commission, consistent with section 8.
    (c) Unused Funds Upon Termination.--If, upon the termination of the 
World War I Centennial Commission, there remains a balance of funds 
from surcharges received from the Secretary pursuant to this section, 
the Commission shall transfer the funds to the general fund of the 
Treasury.
    (d) Audits.--The World War I Commission shall be subject to the 
audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States 
Code, with regard to the amounts received under subsection (b).
    (e) Limitation.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), no 
        surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance under 
        this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as of the time 
        of the issuance, the issuance of the coin would result in the 
        number of commemorative coin programs issued during the 
        calendar year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative coin program 
        issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, 
        United States Code.
            (2) Guidance.--The Secretary may issue guidance to carry 
        out this subsection.

SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.

    The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure 
that--
            (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act will not 
        result in any net cost to the United States Government; and
            (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, shall be 
        disbursed to any recipient designated in section 7 until the 
        total cost of designing and issuing all of the coins authorized 
        by this Act (including labor, materials, dies, use of 
        machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping) is 
        recovered by the United States Treasury, consistent with 
        sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code.
                                 <all>
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