To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

October 7, 2004

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. BREAUX, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. HUTCHISON, and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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 `NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act'.

SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

(a) DENOMINATIONS- In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act referred to as the `Secretary') shall mint and issue the following coins:

(1) $10 gold coins- Not more than 75,000 $10 gold coins of such specifications as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

(2) $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.

(3) $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.

(4) HALF DOLLAR SILVER COINS- Not more than 500,000 half dollar coins which shall--

(A) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and

(B) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.

(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 section 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 3. DESIGN OF COINS.

(a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS-

(1) IN GENERAL- The design of the coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

(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 `2008'; and

(C) inscriptions of the words `Liberty', `In God We Trust', `United States of America', and `E Pluribus Unum', and such other inscriptions as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate for the designs of the coins.

(3) COIN IMAGES-

(A) $10 coins- The reverse of the $10 coins issued under this Act shall bear a design emblematic of the sacrifice of the United States astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty over the course of the space program.

(B) $5 coins- The reverse of the $5 coins issued under this Act shall bear at least 2 different designs--

(i) 1 of which shall be emblematic of the Moon missions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and

(ii) 1 of which shall be emblematic of the Earth missions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

(C) $1 coins-

(i) OBVERSE- The obverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act shall honor the achievements of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and bear an image emblematic of the missions and achievements of the Laboratory in the exploration of the solar system.

(ii) REVERSE- The reverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act shall bear 8 different designs, each of which shall consist of an image of 1 of the 8 planets of the solar system, other than Earth, and be emblematic of the missions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to such planet.

(D) HALF DOLLAR COINS- The reverse of the half dollar coins issued under this Act shall bear an image of the universe.

(4) REALISTIC AND SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE DEPICTIONS- The images for the designs of coins issued under this Act shall be selected on the basis of the realism and scientific accuracy of the images and on the extent to which the images are reminiscent of the dramatic and beautiful artwork on coins of the so-called `Golden Age of Coinage' in the United States, at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, with the participation of such noted sculptors and medallic artists as James Earle Fraser, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Victor David Brenner, Adolph A. Weinman, Charles E. Barber, and George T. Morgan.

(b) SELECTION- The design for the coins minted under this Act shall be--

(1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Commission of Fine Arts; and

(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee.

SEC. 4. SYMBOLIC INCLUSION OF PRECIOUS METALS THAT HAVE FLOWN IN SPACE.

(a) COLLECTION- Each Federal agency and instrumentality of the United States, including the Department of Defense, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, that has in its possession any craft, or any part of a craft, that flew in space shall--

(1) retrieve any gold, silver, copper, and other precious metal that the Director of the United States Mint determines may be used in the production of any coins under this Act, from such craft or part, that can be retrieved without harming any such craft or part that may be of continuing use for its original purpose or for research, or whose preservation is appropriate for historical purposes; and

(2) deposit such precious metals so retrieved with the Director of the United States Mint.

(b) SEGREGATION AND RECORDKEEPING- Each Federal agency and instrumentality of the United States which retrieves any precious metals in accordance with subsection (a), and the Director of the United States Mint with respect to precious metals deposited with the Mint in accordance with such subsection, shall maintain such precious metals separately from other metals not so retrieved or obtained, and shall maintain accurate and complete records of the retrieval and deposit of any such precious metals.

(c) USE OF PRECIOUS METALS IN PRODUCTION OF COINS- Any precious metals deposited with the Director of the United States Mint under subsection (a) shall be used in the production of the coins minted under this Act, by blending such precious metals with other bullion necessary for the production of such coins so that all of the coins produced under this Act will contain some proportion of the bullion obtained from craft or parts of crafts that flew in space, in an amount appropriate for the types and denominations of the coins and the amount of precious metals so deposited.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

(a) QUALITY OF COINS- Coins minted under this Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.

(b) SETS- In issuing coins minted under this Act, the Secretary shall make not fewer than 25,000 sets of coins available for issuance, each of which shall contain the coins of each denomination of the coins minted under

this Act, including a coin bearing each design required for the reverse of any such denomination of coin.

(c) MINT FACILITY- Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may be used to strike any particular combination of denomination and quality of the coins minted under this Act.

(d) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE- The Secretary may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 1, 2008.

(e) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY- No coins may be minted under this Act after December 31, 2008.

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) 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 $75 per coin for the $10 coin.

(2) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin.

(3) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.

(4) 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 NASA Family Assistance Fund, for the purposes of providing need-based financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties.

(c) AUDITS- The NASA Family Assistance 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 under subsection (b).

END