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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 877 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 877
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in
recognition of the life and legacy of Roberto Clemente.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 6, 2025
Mr. Schumer (for himself and Mrs. Capito) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in
recognition of the life and legacy of Roberto Clemente.
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 ``Roberto Clemente Commemorative Coin
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Roberto Clemente Walker was born on August 18, 1934, to
Don Melchor Clemente and Luisa Walker in Barrio San Anton,
Carolina, Puerto Rico, as the youngest of 7 children.
(2) Clemente excelled in athletics as a youngster and, at
the age of 17, was playing for the Santurce Cangrejeros
``Crabbers'' of the Puerto Rican Baseball League.
(3) In 1954, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Clemente in
the first round of the Major League Baseball Rule 5 draft.
(4) Pirates center fielder Earl Smith wore jersey number 21
until he parted ways with the team in April 1955, and Clemente
wore number 13 until then.
(5) In 1955, Clemente made his Major League debut as he
went on to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, starting as a right
fielder.
(6) When the team traveled to Richmond, Virginia, for games
or Florida for spring training, Clemente encountered Jim Crow
laws for the first time when the Black players had to stay at a
separate, inferior hotel and were refused the option to dine
with their White counterparts.
(7) Clemente was known for being a proud Afro-Latino and
protested the discrimination that Latin and Black ball players
encountered.
(8) Clemente was known for defending the rights of Black
and Brown people, both on the field and in the streets.
(9) After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in
1968, Clemente and his teammates refused to play until after
the funerals and even wrote a public statement showing their
respect for Dr. King.
(10) Clemente became a union leader in the incipient Major
League Baseball Players Association and defended players'
rights to demand better working conditions and benefits.
(11) In every city where the Pirates played, Clemente
visited sick children in hospitals.
(12) Clemente established training clinics, providing
baseball lessons and fun for boys and girls in Pittsburgh, his
home island of Puerto Rico, and throughout Latin America.
(13) In 1958, Clemente enlisted in the United States Marine
Corps Reserve after the 1958 season and spent 6 months on
active duty at Parris Island, South Carolina, and Camp LeJeune,
North Carolina.
(14) Clemente served until 1964 and was inducted into the
Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
(15) By the end of his career, Clemente had joined the
exclusive 3,000-hit club, was selected to 15 All-Star teams,
and won 12 Gold Gloves, 2 World Series, and a National League
MVP award.
(16) In Clemente's 18 seasons with Pittsburgh he won 4
batting titles, hit 240 home runs, and posted a lifetime .317
batting average.
(17) In late 1972, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake ravaged
Managua, Nicaragua, and killed 5,000 people.
(18) In his philanthropic spirit, Clemente sent shipments
of humanitarian aid to the country.
(19) After learning that 3 previous shipments had been
diverted by corrupt Somoza Government officials, Clemente
decided to accompany one of the aid shipments.
(20) The four-engine DC-7 plane Clemente chartered for a
flight on New Year's Eve crashed in the Atlantic Ocean
immediately after takeoff from the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto
Rico.
(21) On December 31, 1972, Clemente died in the plane crash
at the age of 38 years young.
(22) Since 1973, Major League Baseball gives out the
Roberto Clemente Award to one player in the league who ``best
exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community
involvement and the individual's contribution to his team''.
(23) In 2002, Major League Baseball declared the first
annual Roberto Clemente Day.
(24) In 2021, Major League Baseball announced September 15
would be the permanent date of Roberto Clemente Day to coincide
with the beginning of Hispanic Heritage month.
(25) Clemente was the first Latino player to accomplish
many feats in Major League Baseball.
(26) Clemente was the first Puerto Rican, and first person
of Latino heritage, to win a World Series as a starter, be
named league MVP, be named World Series MVP, and be elected to
the Hall of Fame.
(27) Clemente was posthumously elected to the National
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, being the first National League
baseball player to receive the mandatory 5-year waiting period
waiver.
(28) Clemente was a legend in life and death, a baseball
star, a humanitarian activist, and a symbol of Latin American
pride.
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 not less than 90 percent gold.
(2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 400,000 $1 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 26.73 grams;
(B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90 percent silver.
(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 designs of the coins minted under this
Act shall be emblematic of the life of Roberto Clemente,
including his human rights activism and baseball stardom
legacy. At least 1 obverse design shall bear the image of
Roberto Clemente.
(2) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin minted
under this Act, there shall be--
(A) an inscription of Roberto Clemente;
(B) a designation of the value of the coin;
(C) an inscription of the year ``2027''; and
(D) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God
We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E
Pluribus Unum''.
(b) Selection.--The designs for the coins minted under this Act
shall be--
(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the
Roberto Clemente Foundation, Roberto Clemente's living family
members, and the Commission of the Fine Arts; 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) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins under this
Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 2027.
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 issued under this Act shall
include--
(1) a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coins;
(2) a surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coins; and
(3) a surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coins.
(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 paid to the Roberto Clemente
Foundation to be used for general expenses associated with the
fulfillment of the mission of the Roberto Clemente Foundation,
including for costs associated with educational, youth sports, and
disaster relief historic preservation.
(c) Audits.--The Roberto Clemente 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 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 may issue guidance to carry out this subsection.
SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure
that--
(1) minting and issuing coins under this Act will not
result in any net cost to the United States Government; and
(2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, shall be
disbursed to any recipient designated in section 7 until the
total cost of designing and issuing all of the coins authorized
by this Act (including labor, materials, dies, use of
machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping) is
recovered by the United States Treasury, consistent with
sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text: CR S1605-1606)
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