United States Foreign Service Commemorative Coin Act

Subjects: Finance and Financial Sector


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 789 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 789

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a coin in recognition 
 of the 100th anniversary of the United States Foreign Service and its 
                contribution to United States diplomacy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 14, 2023

Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Mr. Sullivan) 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 a coin in recognition 
 of the 100th anniversary of the United States Foreign Service and its 
                contribution to United States diplomacy.

    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 ``United States Foreign Service 
Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On September 15, 1789, the 1st United States Congress 
        passed an Act creating the Department of State and appointing 
        duties to it, including the keeping of the Great Seal of the 
        United States. Initially there were 2 services devoted to 
        diplomatic and to consular activity. The Diplomatic Service 
        provided ambassadors and staff for embassies overseas, while 
        the Consular Service provided consuls to assist United States 
        sailors and promote international trade and commerce.
            (2) After World War I ended, Congress complemented the 
        earlier efforts for Civil Service reform, interrupted by World 
        War I, to create a career, professional diplomatic service. 
        Representative John Jacob Rogers of Massachusetts introduced 
        his first Foreign Service reform bill in 1919, followed by 
        several others. He was strongly supported in his efforts by 
        Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes. The legislation 
        provided improvements in the Diplomatic and Consular Services 
        to attract highly qualified candidates ``by keen competition''. 
        The objective was to create ``a real diplomatic career, open to 
        any American citizen who has the necessary qualifications''.
            (3) The Act entitled ``An Act for the reorganization and 
        improvement of the Foreign Service of the United States, and 
        for other purposes'', approved May 24, 1924 (43 Stat. 140, 
        chapter 182) (commonly known as the ``Rogers Act of 1924''), 
        unified the Diplomatic and Consular Services in one career 
        organization based on competitive examination and merit 
        promotion. It was named the ``Foreign Service of the United 
        States of America''. President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill 
        into law on May 24, 1924. The first class of new Foreign 
        Service officers was held in 1925.
            (4) The Foreign Service of the United States is the primary 
        United States Federal Government professional cadre of 
        generalists and specialists charged with the conduct of United 
        States diplomacy under the aegis of the United States 
        Department of State. It consists of more than 15,000 career 
        professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United 
        States and aiding United States citizens abroad.
            (5) In 1946, after World War II, Congress passed the 
        Foreign Service Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 999, chapter 957) to 
        update the 1924 Rogers Act.
            (6) In 1980, the Congress again updated the Rogers Act, 
        passing the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3901 et 
        seq.), to promote the foreign policy of the United States by 
        strengthening and improving the Foreign Service of the United 
        States.
            (7) Since the creation of the United States Foreign 
        Service, generations of Foreign Service members and families 
        have represented the United States around the world, in peace 
        and war. Over 320 names are inscribed in the memorial plaques 
        erected by the American Foreign Service Association and located 
        in the lobby of the Harry S. Truman Building, the headquarters 
        of the Department of State, to honor ``diplomatic and consular 
        officers of the United States who while on active duty lost 
        their lives under heroic or tragic circumstances''.
            (8) The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training is 
        dedicated to capturing, preserving, and sharing the experiences 
        of United States diplomats. The Association has created, 
        managed, and maintained a Foreign Affairs Oral History program 
        consisting of more than 2,600 first-person oral histories of 
        United States diplomats to capture and share the legacy and 
        contributions of modern United States diplomacy. The 
        Association is a nongovernmental, member-based, nonprofit 
        501(c)(3) organization housed on the campus of the George P. 
        Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center and dependent 
        on funds from members, donations, contracts, and grants to 
        sustain its work.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--In celebration of diplomacy and in recognition 
of the 100th anniversary of the United States Foreign Service, the 
Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the following coins:
            (1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
                    (C) contain not less than 90 percent gold.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 400,000 $1 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 26.73 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
                    (C) contain not less than 90 percent silver.
            (3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 750,000 half-
        dollar coins which shall--
                    (A) weigh 11.34 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and
                    (C) be minted to the specifications for half-dollar 
                coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United 
                States Code.
    (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. DESIGNS OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The designs of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the importance of diplomacy to the 
        national interest of the United States and of the creation of 
        the United States Foreign Service and its contributions to 
        modern diplomacy in the United States.
            (2) Designations 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 ``2025''; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Selection.--The designs for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the 
        Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training and the 
        Commission of Fine Arts; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued 
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
    (b) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2025.

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 
        such 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 such 
        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--
            (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coins;
            (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coins; and
            (3) $5 for the half dollar coins.
    (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 promptly paid by the Secretary to 
the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training to support the 
collection, curation, and sharing of diplomatic history in the United 
States via oral history, books, social media, and other means.
    (c) Audits.--The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training 
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).
    (d) Limitation.--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 such issuance, the 
issuance of such coin would result in the number of commemorative coin 
programs issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative 
coin program issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, 
United States Code (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
Act). 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, are 
        disbursed to the 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.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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