To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition and celebration of the establishment of the United States Army in 1775, to honor the American soldier of both today and yesterday, in wartime and in peace, and to commemorate the traditions, history, and heritage of the United States Army and its role in American society, from the Colonial period to today.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``United States Army Commemorative 
Coin Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    The Congress finds that--
        (1) the United States Army, founded in 1775, has served this 
    country well for over 230 years;
        (2) the United States Army has played a decisive role in 
    protecting and defending freedom throughout the history of the 
    United States, from the Colonial period to today, in wartime and in 
    peace, and has consistently answered the call to serve the American 
    people at home and abroad since the Revolutionary War;
        (3) the sacrifice of the American soldier, of all ranks, since 
    the earliest days of the Republic has been immense and is deserving 
    of the unique recognition bestowed by commemorative coinage;
        (4) the Army, the Nation's oldest and largest military service, 
    is the only service branch that currently does not have a 
    comprehensive national museum celebrating, preserving, and 
    displaying its heritage and honoring its veterans;
        (5) the National Museum of the United States Army will be--
            (A) the Army's only service-wide, national museum honoring 
        all soldiers, of all ranks, in all branches since 1775; and
            (B) located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, across the Potomac 
        River from the Nation's Capitol, a 10-minute drive from Mount 
        Vernon, the home of the Army's first Commander-in-Chief, and 
        astride the Civil War's decisive Washington-Richmond corridor;
        (6) the Army Historical Foundation (hereafter in this Act 
    referred to as the ``Foundation''), founded in 1983--
            (A) is dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of 
        the American soldier; and
            (B) seeks to educate future Americans to fully appreciate 
        the sacrifices that generations of American soldiers have made 
        to safeguard the freedoms of this Nation;
        (7) the completion and opening to the public of the National 
    Museum of the United States Army will immeasurably help in 
    fulfilling that mission;
        (8) the Foundation is a nongovernmental, member-based, and 
    publicly supported nonprofit organization that is dependent on 
    funds from members, donations, and grants for support;
        (9) the Foundation uses such support to help create the 
    National Museum of the United States Army, refurbish historical 
    Army buildings, acquire and conserve Army historical art and 
    artifacts, support Army history educational programs, for research, 
    and publication of historical materials on the American soldier, 
    and to provide support and counsel to private and governmental 
    organizations committed to the same goals as the Foundation;
        (10) in 2000, the Secretary of the Army designated the 
    Foundation as its primary partner in the building of the National 
    Museum of the United States Army; and
        (11) the Foundation is actively engaged in executing a major 
    capital campaign to support the National Museum of the United 
    States Army.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
    (a) Denominations.--In recognition and celebration of the founding 
of the United States Army in 1775, and notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, 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 100,000 $5 coins, which 
    shall--
            (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
            (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
            (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
        (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 500,000 $1 coins, which 
    shall--
            (A) weigh 26.73 grams;
            (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
            (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.
        (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. DESIGN OF COINS.
    (a) Design Requirements.--
        (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this Act 
    shall be emblematic of the traditions, history, and heritage of the 
    United States Army, and its role in American society from the 
    Colonial period to today.
        (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 ``2011''; 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--
        (1) contain motifs that specifically honor the American soldier 
    of both today and yesterday, in wartime and in peace, such designs 
    to be consistent with the traditions and heritage of the United 
    States Army, the mission and goals of the National Museum of the 
    United States Army, and the missions and goals of the Foundation;
        (2) be selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the 
    Secretary of the Army, the Foundation, and the Commission of Fine 
    Arts; and
        (3) be 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) Mint Facilities.--For each of the 3 coins minted under this 
Act, at least 1 facility of the United States Mint shall be used to 
strike proof quality coins, while at least 1 other such facility shall 
be used to strike the uncirculated quality coins.
    (c) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2011.
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 minted under this Act shall 
include a surcharge as follows:
        (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin.
        (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
        (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half dollar 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 promptly paid by the Secretary to 
the Foundation to help finance the National Museum of the United States 
Army.
    (c) Audits.--The Foundation shall be subject to the audit 
requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, 
with regard to the amounts received by the Foundation 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 of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 
this subsection.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.

Summary: United States Army Commemorative Coin Act of 2008 - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half dollar clad coins as numismatic items emblematic of the traditions, history, and heritage of the U.S. Army, and its role in American society from the Colonial period to today.

Requires the design for such coins to contain motifs that honor specifically the American soldier of both today and yesterday, in wartime and in peace, consistent with the traditions and heritage of the U.S. Army, the mission and goals of the National Museum of the U.S. Army, and the missions and goals of the Army Historical Foundation.

Restricts coin issuance to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2011.

Requires all surcharges from coin sales to be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Foundation to help finance the National Museum of the U.S. Army.