Duty First Act
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to issue up to 20,000 $5 gold coins, 100,000 $1 silver coins, and 200,000 half-dollar clad coins, emblematic of the 100-year anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division.
All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins shall be paid to the Society of the 1st Infantry Division for renovation of the existing 1st Infantry Division Memorial located in the District of Columbia.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1582 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1582
To require the Secretary of Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of
the 100 year anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2017
Mr. Russell (for himself, Mr. Jones, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Walz, Mr.
Cole, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Knight, Mrs. Hartzler, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr.
Kelly of Mississippi, Mr. Marshall, and Mr. Collins of New York)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of
the 100 year anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division.
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 ``Duty First Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The congress finds the following:
(1) The 1st Infantry Division was constituted on May 24,
1917, and is the first and oldest permanently established
combat division of the United States Army. 2017 is the
centennial of the Division.
(2) The 1st Infantry Division has been in continuous
service since its organization.
(3) The 1st Infantry Division has fought with distinction
in every major conflict since 1917 except the Korean War, when
it was on occupation duty in Germany.
(4) In World War I, the then-First Division was the first
United States division to arrive in France. It fired the first
American shots of the war, suffered the first casualties and
secured the first American victory at the Battle of Cantigny in
May, 1918. This was also the first modern, combined arms battle
in American history. It fought with distinction in all
subsequent campaigns and, after occupation duty in Germany, was
the last combat division to return home in 1919.
(5) Five division soldiers received the Medal of Honor in
World War I.
(6) In World War II, the 1 ID was the first to deploy to
Europe. It fought in North Africa and Sicily in 1942 and 1943.
General George S. Patton, Jr., commander of the United States
7th Army in the Mediterranean, stated that he would not invade
Sicily without the 1 ID as the assault division.
(7) The 1 ID was the lead assault division on Omaha beach
in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Against frightful odds and
despite multiple challenges, it secured a beach head on a day
when failure could have altered the outcome of the war.
(8) The 1 ID played pivotal roles in the liberation of
France and Belgium; the Battle of the Bulge; the crossing of
the Rhine River; and the invasion and defeat of Nazi Germany.
After the war, the Division supported and secured the
International War Crimes Tribunal at Nuremburg, Germany,
guarding infamous Nazi officials during the courtroom
proceedings.
(9) Seventeen division soldiers received the Medal of Honor
in World War II.
(10) The 1 ID was the only United States combat division in
Europe from 1946 to 1951. It returned to the United States and
Fort Riley, KS, in 1955.
(11) The 1 ID was one of the first 2 combat divisions
deployed to Vietnam in 1965. There it defended the vital
Highway 13 corridor against enemy infiltration from Cambodia to
the capital at Saigon. It fought gallantly in Operation
Junction City, the largest operation of the war, in 1967; and
in all 3 waves of the Tet Offensive in 1968.
(12) Twelve division soldiers received the Medal of Honor
in Vietnam.
(13) The 1 ID deterred Soviet aggression against NATO
Europe from 1970 to 1990 with a brigade in Germany and the rest
of the division deploying there annually from Fort Riley in
REFORGER exercises that demonstrated United States capability
and resolve until the Cold War ended.
(14) The 1 ID deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1991 in
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It attacked to
breach the Iraqi defenses, raced across the desert with the
United States VIIth Corps, destroying the Iraqi Republican
Guard Tawakalna Division.
(15) The 1 ID enforced international peace agreements in
Bosnia for 31 months between 1996 and 2000; for 4 months in
Macedonia (FYROM) in 1999; and for 22 months in Kosovo between
1999 and 2003.
(16) The 1 ID deployed to Iraq in 2004 to 2005 in OIF II,
the initial occupation of Iraq, and helped achieve the first
free and fair elections in the history of Iraq. Its brigade
combat teams and other elements deployed multiple times to Iraq
and Afghanistan between 2003 and 2014.
(17) The 1 ID provided the first ``regionally aligned
force'' (RAF) to the United States Africa Command and provided
military assistance to friendly governments across the
continent of Africa.
(18) To combat the growing ISIS threat, 1 ID soldiers have
deployed to Iraq and Kuwait to assist the Iraqi Security Forces
and other friendly countries in that vital and unstable region.
(19) The 1 ID will be deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Korea in 2016 and 2017, its centennial year.
(20) Thirty-six soldiers have been decorated with the Medal
of Honor, and countless others have distinguished themselves in
combat.
(21) The 1st Infantry Division has earned several unit
decorations, including 2 Meritorious Unit Commendations, 3
French Croix de Guerre, 1 Belgian Fourragere, Republic of
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, 1 Republic of Vietnam
Civil Action Honor Medal, and was cited twice in the Order of
the Day of the Belgian Army.
(22) The 1st Infantry Division has served the United States
with great valor and distinction since its organization, living
up to its motto, ``No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too
great--Duty First''.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATION.
(a) Denominations.--The Secretary of Treasury (hereafter in this
Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint the issue the
following coins:
(1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 20,000 $5 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 8.359 grams;
(B) have a diameter of .850 inches; and
(C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
(2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 100,000 $1 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 26.73 grams;
(B) have the diameter of 1.50 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90 percent silver.
(3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 200,000 half-
dollar coins which shall--
(A) weight 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 the purposes of section 5134 of title
31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be
considered to 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 100 year anniversary of the 1st
Infantry Division.
(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 2017; 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
Society of the 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. Army Center
of Military History; and
(2) 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 Facility.--Only the West Point Mint may be used to strike
any particular quality of the coins minted under this Act.
(c) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 2018.
SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.
(1) Sale price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be
sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
(A) the face value of the coins;
(B) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with
respect to such coins; and
(C) the cost of designing and issuing the coins
(including labor, material, dies, use of machinery,
overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).
(2) Bulk sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the
coins issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
(3) Prepaid orders.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid
orders for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance
of such coins.
SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.
(a) In General.--All sales of coins issued under this Act shall
include a surcharge of--
(1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin;
(2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and
(3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin.
(b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134 (f)(1) 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 Society of the 1st Infantry Division for renovation of
existing 1st Infantry Division Memorial located in the District of
Columbia.
(c) Audits.--The society of the 1st Infantry Division shall be
subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31,
United States Code, with regard to the amounts received 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 coin
commemorative coin program issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1)
of title 31, United State 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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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