HR 1184 IH

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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

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).

END