I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5397
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States and to use
the proceeds of surcharges imposed on the sale of such coins to fund
the transportation of veterans to and from hospitals administered by
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 5, 2000
Mr. INSLEE (for himself, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. EVANS, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr.
ACKERMAN, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BAIRD, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BARRETT of
Nebraska, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. BECERRA, Ms. BERKLEY,
Mr. BERRY, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr.
BONIOR, Mrs. BONO, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms.
BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. CANNON, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr.
CAPUANO, Ms. CARSON, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr.
CONDIT, Mr. COYNE, Mr. CRAMER, Ms. DANNER, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois,
Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DICKS, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. DIXON, Mr. ETHERIDGE,
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FORBES,
Mr. FRANK
of Massachusetts, Mr. FROST, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr.
GALLEGLY, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. GOR-
DON, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr.
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. JACKSON of Illi-
nois, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. JENKINS, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. JONES of
North Carolina, Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Is-
land, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KIND, Mr. KLINK, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LARSON,
Mr. LATOURETTE, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. LOWEY,
Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr.
MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCINTYRE, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr.
MCNULTY, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. MASCARA,
Mr. MATSUI, Mr. MEEHAN, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MEEKS of New
York, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. METCALF, Mr. MICA, Ms. MILLENDER-
MCDONALD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MOORE, Mr.
MORAN of Virginia, Mr. MURTHA, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEAL of Mas-
sachusetts, Mr. NEY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OBEY, Mr.
ORTIZ, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr.
PAYNE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. PETERSON of
Pennsylvania, Mr. PHELPS, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina,
Mr. RAHALL, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. REYES, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ROHR-
ABACHER, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO´, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Ms. ROYBAL-AL-
LARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SANDLIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr.
SCOTT, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SHOWS, Ms.
SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr.
SNYDER, Mr. SPRATT, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. STARK, Mr. STEARNS, Mr.
STRICKLAND, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. SWEENEY, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TAYLOR
of Mississippi, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. THUNE, Mr. TIERNEY,
Mr. TOWNS, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr.
WAMP, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WEYGAND, Mr. WISE, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WU,
and Mr. WYNN) 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 veterans of the Armed Forces of
the United States and to use the proceeds of surcharges
imposed on the sale of such coins to fund the transpor-
tation of veterans to and from hospitals administered
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
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 ‘‘Veterans Commemora-
tion Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The United States is indebted to those who
served this nation in times of war.
(2) The United States must meet its obligations
to veterans.
(3) The Congress has the responsibility to fulfill
those obligations to veterans.
(4) The Congress recognizes the unique service
that the Disabled American Veterans’ transportation
program provides to veterans.
(5) The Congress would like to offer the oppor-
tunity for all persons to voluntarily participate in
raising funds for the transportation of veterans to
and from veterans’ hospitals.
(6) The Congress understands the importance
of Executive Order Numbered 5398, signed by
President Herbert Hoover on July 21, 1930, which
created the Veterans Administration at a time when
there were 54 hospitals, 4,700,000 living veterans,
and 31,600 employees.
(7) It is appropriate to authorize coins com-
memorating the service of veterans of the Armed
Forces of the United States and provide for the use
of the proceeds of surcharges imposed on the sale of
the coins to fund the transportation of veterans to
and from hospitals administered by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) $1 SILVER COINS.—
(1) DESIGNATIONS.—The Secretary of the
Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue not more than
500,000 $1 coins to commemorate veterans of the
United States Armed Services.
(2) SIZE, WEIGHT, AND COMPOSITION.—Each
coin issued under paragraph (1) shall—
(A) weigh 26.73 grams;
(B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per-
cent 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 each coin
minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the
service of veterans of the Armed Forces of the
United States.
(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 ‘‘2005’’; 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 Disabled American Veterans and the Com-
mission of Fine Arts; and
(2) 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 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, 2005.
(d) TERMINATION
OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No
coins may be minted under this Act after December 31,
2005.
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 section 8(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 pre-
paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea-
sonable discount.
SEC. 8. SURCHARGES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins minted under
this Act shall include a surcharge of $10.
(b) DISTRIBUTION.—All surcharges received by the
Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall
be promptly paid by the Secretary, in accordance with sec-
tion 5134(f)(1) of title 31, United States Code, to the Dis-
abled American Veterans for the purpose of funding the
transportation of veterans to and from hospitals adminis-
tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(c) AUDITS.—The Disabled American Veterans shall
be subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2)
of title 31, United States Code.
Æ