I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2097
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of the U.S.S. New Jersey, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 9, 1999
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN (for himself, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. MENEN-
DEZ, Mr. PASCRELL, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. HOLT, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. ROTH-
MAN, and Mr. SMITH or New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins
in commemoration of the U.S.S. New Jersey, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S.S. New Jersey
Commemorative Coin Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The U.S.S. New Jersey was launched De-
cember 7, 1942, the start of nearly 50 years of dedi-
cated service to our Nation prior to final decommis-
sioning in 1991.
(2) After commissioning, the U.S.S. New Jer-
sey was sent to the Pacific, and played a key role
in operations in the Marshalls, Marianas, Carolines,
Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, with a par-
ticular highlight being the U.S.S. New Jersey’s serv-
ice as the flagship for Commander 3d Fleet, Admiral
William ‘‘Bull’’ Halsey, during the Battle of Leyte
Gulf in October 1944.
(3) After the Allied victory in World War II,
the U.S.S. New Jersey was deactivated in 1948 until
being called to service for the second time, in No-
vember 1950.
(4) The U.S.S. New Jersey served two tours in
the Western Pacific during the Korean War, serving
as flagship for Commander 7th Fleet.
(5) After her valiant service during the Korean
War, the U.S.S. New Jersey was again mothballed
in 1957, only to be re-activated again in 1968 to
serve as the only active-duty Navy battleship.
(6) The U.S.S. New Jersey served a successful
tour during the Vietnam conflict, providing critical
major-caliber fire support for friendly troops, before
again being decommissioned in December 1969.
(7) The U.S.S. New Jersey’s service to our
country did not end with the Vietnam conflict, as
she was again called to active duty status in Decem-
ber 1982 and provided a show of strength off the
coast of Nicaragua, in Central America in 1983.
(8) The Navy again called upon the U.S.S. New
Jersey to provide critical support by sending her to
the Mediterranean in 1983 to provide critical fire
support to Marines in embattled Beirut, Lebanon.
(9) The U.S.S. New Jersey continued to serve
the Navy in a variety of roles, including regular de-
ployments in the Western Pacific.
(10) The U.S.S. New Jersey was decommis-
sioned for the fourth and final time in February
1991.
(11) In 1998 Congress passed legislation to de-
commission the U.S.S. New Jersey and permanently
berth her in the State of New Jersey.
(12) The State has strongly endorsed bringing
the U.S.S. New Jersey home, and has issued com-
memorative license plates and taken other steps to
raise funds for the costs of relocating the U.S.S.
New Jersey.
(13) The New Jersey congressional delegation
is united in its support for bringing the U.S.S. New
Jersey home to New Jersey.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) DENOMINATION.—In commemoration of the
U.S.S. New Jersey, the Secretary of the Treasury (here-
after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint
and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins, 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 section
5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted
under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 4. SOURCES OF BULLION.
The Secretary may obtain silver for minting coins
under this Act from any available source, including stock-
piles established under the Strategic and Critical Mate-
rials Stock Piling Act.
SEC. 5. DESIGN OF COINS.
(a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The design of the coins
minted under this Act shall be emblematic of service
of the U.S.S. New Jersey.
(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 ‘‘2002’’; and
(C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’,
‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer-
ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’.
(3) OBVERSE OF COIN.—The obverse of each
coin minted under this Act shall bear the likeness of
the U.S.S. New Jersey.
(4) GENERAL DESIGN.—In designing this coin,
the Secretary shall also consider incorporating ap-
propriate elements from the tenure of service of the
U.S.S. New Jersey in the Navy.
(b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted
under this Act shall be selected by the Secretary after con-
sultation with the Commission of Fine Arts and shall be
reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory
Committee.
SEC. 6. ISSUANCE OF COINS.
(a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this
Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.
(b) MINT FACILITY.—Only one 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 minted under this Act only during the period
beginning on January 1, 2002, and ending on December
31, 2002.
SEC. 7. 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 subsection (d)
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 pre-
paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea-
sonable discount.
(d) SURCHARGES.—All sales of coins minted under
this Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin.
SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 5134(f) of title
31, United States Code, 10 percent of the proceeds from
the surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of
coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the
Secretary to the U.S.S. New Jersey Battleship Founda-
tion in Middletown, New Jersey, for activities associated
with the costs of moving the U.S.S. New Jersey and per-
manently berthing her in her new location.
(b) AUDITS.—The U.S.S. New Jersey Battleship
Foundation shall be subject to the audit requirements of
section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code.
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