S 2119
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2119
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of veterans who became disabled for life while serving in the Armed
Forces of the United States.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 1, 2007
Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BIDEN, Mr.
BINGAMAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. CHAMBLISS,
Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. KERRY,
Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. SALAZAR, Ms.
SNOWE, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. THUNE, Mr. VITTER, and Mr. VOINOVICH) 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 coins in commemoration
of veterans who became disabled for life while serving in the Armed
Forces of the United States.
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 `American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative
Coin Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The Armed Forces of the United States have answered the call and
served with distinction around the world--from hitting the beaches
in World War II in the Pacific and Europe, to the cold and difficult
terrain in Korea, the steamy jungles of Vietnam, and the desert sands
of the Middle East.
(2) All Americans should commemorate those who come home having survived
the ordeal of war, and solemnly honor those who made the ultimate
sacrifice in giving their lives for their country.
(3) All Americans should honor the millions of living disabled veterans
who carry the scars of war every day, and who have made enormous personal
sacrifices defending the principles of our democracy.
(4) In 2000, Congress authorized the construction of the American
Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.
(5) The United States should pay tribute to the Nation's living disabled
veterans by minting and issuing a commemorative silver dollar coin.
(6) The surcharge proceeds from the sale of a commemorative coin would
raise valuable funding for the construction of the American Veterans
Disabled for Life Memorial.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) $1 Silver Coins- The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this
Act referred to as the `Secretary') shall mint and issue not more than
350,000 $1 coins in commemoration of disabled American veterans, each
of which shall--
(2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(3) 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 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.
(1) IN GENERAL- The design of the coins minted under this Act shall
be emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE
Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.
(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 `2010'; 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 Disabled
Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation and the Commission of 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.
(1) IN GENERAL- Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may be used
to strike any particular quality of the coins minted under this Act.
(2) USE OF THE UNITED STATES MINT AT WEST POINT, NEW YORK- It is the
sense of the Congress that the coins minted under this Act should
be struck at the United States Mint at West Point, New York, to the
greatest extent possible.
(c) Period for Issuance- The Secretary may issue coins under this Act
only during the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2010.
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 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.
(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
a surcharge of $10 per 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 paid to the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial
Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the
construction of American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington,
D.C.
(c) Audits- The Comptroller General of the United States shall have
the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other data
of the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation as may be related
to the expenditures of amounts paid 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
of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out this subsection.
END
