Date: 1982-05-20
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman. That public record speaks loudly. but it has not stopped the innuendoes. Frankly. we do not know whether Mr. Hammer or someone else will be the successful bidder. I repeat. if it is such a giveaway. such a profitmaker. there will be an untold number of bidders at the next bidding. The bidding is open. All bidders must meet a strong list of criteria and all must be willing and able to put up $30 million in the form of guarantees for the Olympics. to pay all production costs to the U.S. Mint. and to assume all risks of the marketing of the coins worldwide and pass muster at the Treasury Department. If the market believes this is a lucrative program. I am sure we will have a long list of bidders. I am hopeful that we will have qualified bidders. I am convinced we will. One of the dead cats thrown into this debate has been a discussion of -a "Greek coin program." Part of thisand I do mean only partof this story found its way into Jack Andersons column through a lack of a cable fLom the U.S. Embassy in Athensa cable requested by the Annunzio subcommittee. The cable contained a rehash of the charges and countercharges which had apparently been initiated by the losing bidder. The cable concluded that the issue was basically a dispute between two companies. The connection. via the well worn innuendo path. is that the winning bidder was Numarco. a subsidiary of Lazard Freres. a possible bidder on the U.S. program. Strangely enough. neither Jack Anderson nor the other peddlers of the Greek mythology bothered to mention the complaining company. The company is Italcambio. a name to remember. Italcamblo is a Venezuelan firm with offices in Milan. Miami. Switzerland. France. Germany. and I am sorry to say Canada. In the 1970s. Italcambio was caught redhanded in the State of New York and charged with fraudulent acts in the marketing of gold coins. purposed to be issued by Cambodia. The New York attorney general moved against Italcambio. put a stop to the fraudulent activities. fined the company. and obtained a court order that among other things forced the company to refund money to purchasers of the "Cambodian" coins. Now. Italcambio wants back in another program. a "Governmentrun" U.S. Olympic coin program. The request has moved through State Department channels. That is one of the things that worries me about the Annunzio proposal which he will present in opposition to S. 1230. Under the marketing plans of the Annunzio bill. uncontrolled marketersunchecked by anyonecould purchase coins at huge discounts at the Treasury. Nothing could prevent these marketersfrom whatever backgroundfrom moving in and selling these coins under any kind of misleading promotion to an unsuspecting public. The St Germain bill. S. 1230. controls the advertising and promotion and requires that the Secretary of the Treasury not only review the materials in advance. but monitor the program throughout. The Annunzio bill does not have this safeguard for the bulk purchasers and there is nothing to prevent an Italcamblo from repeating its Cambodian Gold coin caper. The marketing under the Annunzio bill is conflicting. with each element undercutting the other. The chances of obtaining qualified foreign marketers under the bill is jeopardized by this strange structure. Frankly. it is simply not workable on a worldwide basis The gentleman from Illinois . of course. has attacked the international aspects of the coin program on the floor of the House. As a result. I assume his provision for international marketing is little more than window dressing. and that it is not intended to work. Today. Mr. Chairman. we will hear opponents of S. 1230 tell us how much they love the Olympics and admire the U.S. athletes. They just want to gut the financing. The Olympics can remain. just do not finance them with a workable program. is the basic line of the opponents of S. 1230. With friends like this. the 1984 Olympics needs no enemies.