[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1184 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1184
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 22, 2001
Mr. Leach (for himself, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Watts
of Oklahoma, Mr. LaFalce, Ms. McKinney, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Hilliard, Mr.
Filner, Mr. Abercrombie, Ms. Norton, Mr. Kleczka, Mr. Condit, Mr.
Frost, Mr. Watt of North Carolina, Mr. McNulty, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr.
Brown of Ohio, Mrs. Thurman, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Ms. Baldwin, Mr.
Cummings, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Portman, Mr. Kucinich, Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of
Virginia, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Buyer, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr.
Clay, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Holden, Mr. Maloney of Connecticut,
Mr. Pascrell, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Dooley of California, and Mr.
Barrett) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Commemorative Coin Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress hereby finds as follows:
(1) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dedicated his life to
securing the Nation's fundamental principles of liberty and
justice for all its citizens.
(2) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the leading civil
rights advocate of his time, spearheading the civil rights
movement in the United States during the 1950's and 1960's.
(3) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the keynote speaker at
the August, 28, 1963, March on Washington, the largest rally of
the civil rights movement, during which, from the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial and before a crowd of over 200,000 people, he
delivered his famous ``I Have A Dream'' speech, one of the
classic orations in American history.
(4) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a champion of
nonviolence, fervently advocated nonviolent resistance as the
strategy to end segregation and racial discrimination in
America, and was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize in
recognition for his efforts.
(5) All Americans should commemorate the legacy of Martin
Luther King, Jr., so ``that one day this Nation will rise up
and live out the true meaning of its creed: `We hold these
truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.'''.
(6) Efforts are underway to secure the personal papers of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for the Library of Congress so
that they may be preserved and studied for generations to come.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations.--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 50,000 $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 350,000 $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 5,000,000 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. SOURCES OF BULLION.
(a) Gold.--The Secretary shall obtain gold for minting coins under
this Act pursuant to the authority of the Secretary under other
provisions of law.
(b) Silver.--The Secretary shall obtain silver for minting coins
under this Act from any available source, including from stockpiles
established under the Strategic and Critical Materials 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 the inspirational life and works of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
(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 ``2003''; 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 be--
(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the
Commission 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 August 28, 2003.
(d) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins may be minted under
this Act after December 31, 2003.
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 prepaid orders
under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.
(d) Marketing.--The Secretary, in cooperation with the Legacy Fund
of the Library of Congress, shall develop and implement a marketing
program to promote and sell the coins issued under this Act both within
the United States and internationally.
SEC. 8. 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 $3 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 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Legacy Fund of the Library of Congress
to be used for the objects and purposes of such Fund.
(c) Audits.--The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Legacy Fund 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 Fund
under subsection (b).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy, Technology and Economic Growth.
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