I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2453
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of the African-American Civil War veterans.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 11, 1997
Ms. NORTON (for herself, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. CHRISTIAN-GREEN, Mr. CON-
YERS, Mr. WELLER, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida,
Mr. CLAY, Mr. FROST, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE
JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. HOLDEN, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr.
PALLONE, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. FILNER, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.
ENGEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. RUSH, Mr. OWENS, Mr. BERMAN,
Mr. BISHOP, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. DIXON, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. CARSON,
Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. WYNN, and Mr. FORD) 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 African-American Civil War
veterans.
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 ‘‘African-American Civil
War Memorial Commemorative Coin Act’’.
SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) $1 SILVER COINS.—In commemoration of Afri-
can-American Civil War veterans, the Secretary of the
Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall mint and issue not more than 500,000 1
dollar coins, 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 numis-
matic items.
SEC. 3. SOURCES OF BULLION.
The Secretary shall obtain silver for minting coins
under this Act only from stockpiles established under the
Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act.
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 Af-
rican-American Civil War Memorial.
(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 ‘‘2001’’; and
(C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’,
‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer-
ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’.
(b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted
under this Act shall be—
(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation
with the African-American Civil War Memorial Free-
dom Foundation and the Commission of Fine Arts;
and
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative
Coin 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) 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) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary
may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January
1, 2001.
(d) TERMINATION
OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No
coins may be minted under this Act after December 31,
2001.
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 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 shall include a sur-
charge of $10 per coin.
SEC. 7. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULA-
TIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection
(b), no provision of law governing procurement or public
contracts shall be applicable to the procurement of goods
and services necessary for carrying out the provisions of
this Act.
(b) EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY.—Sub-
section (a) shall not relieve any person entering into a con-
tract under the authority of this Act from complying with
any law relating to equal employment opportunity.
SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—All surcharges received by the
Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall
be promptly paid by the Secretary to the African-Amer-
ican Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation for the pur-
pose of supporting the construction and maintenance of
an African-American Civil War Memorial and the Garnet-
Patterson Family Heritage Center (Visitors’ Center).
(b) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United
States shall have the right to examine such books, records,
documents, and other data of the African-American Civil
War Memorial Freedom Foundation as may be related to
the expenditures of amounts paid under subsection (a).
SEC. 9. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.
(a) NO NET COST TO THE GOVERNMENT.—The Sec-
retary shall take such actions as may be necessary to en-
sure that minting and issuing coins under this Act will
not result in any net cost to the United States Govern-
ment.
(b) PAYMENT FOR COINS.—A coin shall not be issued
under this Act unless the Secretary has received—
(1) full payment for the coin;
(2) security satisfactory to the Secretary to in-
demnify the United States for full payment; or
(3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to
the Secretary from a depository institution whose
deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insur-
ance Corporation or the National Credit Union Ad-
ministration Board.
Æ