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[DOCID: f:h631ih.txt]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 631
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of Project Apollo.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 14, 2001
Mr. Cooksey (for himself, Mr. Cramer, and Mr. Weldon of Florida)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of Project Apollo.
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 ``Project Apollo Commemorative Coin
Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Project Apollo in general, and the flight of Apollo 11
in particular, were milestones in the history of our Nation.
(2) When referring to Project Apollo, historian Arthur
Schlesinger, Jr., observed, ``The one thing for which this
century will be remembered 500 years from now was: This was the
century when we began the exploration of space.''
(3) Project Apollo helped demonstrate the technological and
economic strength of the United States at the height of the
cold war.
(4) Project Apollo was an engineering triumph that
successfully achieved the policy goals set by President
Kennedy.
(5) In only 9 years, Project Apollo advanced rocket
technology from the 28-foot Redstone rocket which produced
78,000 pounds of thrust to the 363-foot Saturn V which produced
7.7 million pounds of thrust, which is comparable to building a
modern commercial aircraft 9 years after the Wright brothers
built their first airplane.
(6) The Apollo flights are among the high points of our
human achievement and allowed the entire world to view the
planet Earth in a new way.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations.--In commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the
Apollo 11 landing, and notwithstanding section 5112(m)(1) of title 31,
United States Code, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this
Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the
following:
(1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 100,000 $5 coins, each of
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 500,000 $1 coins, each
of 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.
(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 5136 of title 31,
United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered
to be numismatic items.
(d) Sources of Bullion.--The Secretary may obtain silver for
minting coins under this Act from any available source, including
stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock
Piling Act (Public Law 76-117; 50 U.S.C. 98, et seq.).
SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.
(a) In General.--The design of the coins minted under this Act
shall be emblematic of the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar
landing.
(b) Designation and Inscriptions.--On each coin minted under this
Act there shall be--
(1) a designation of the value of the coin;
(2) an inscription of the year ``2004''; and
(3) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We
Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E Pluribus Unum''.
(c) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act
shall be selected by the Secretary after--
(1) consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts; and
(2) receiving the advice of the Citizens Commemorative Coin
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 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 on January 1, 2004.
(d) Termination of Minting.--No coins may be minted under this Act
after December 31, 2004.
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 surcharges required by 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,
discounts, 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.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders
received before January 1, 2004 for the coins minted under this Act.
The sale prices with respect to such prepaid orders shall be at a
reasonable discount.
SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.
(a) Assessment.--Any sale by the Secretary of a coin 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.
(b) Distribution.--
(1) In general.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31,
United States Code, the proceeds from the surcharges received
by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act
shall be paid promptly by the Secretary to the National Air and
Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution for the purposes
of--
(A) collecting, exhibiting, and caring for objects
related to Project Apollo; and
(B) documenting and researching the mission of
Project Apollo (including a collective outreach to the
workers associated with Project Apollo for the
contribution of their memories regarding Project
Apollo).
(2) Audits.--The National Air and Space Museum of the
Smithsonian Institution 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 museum under
paragraph (1).
SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.
(a) No Net Cost to the Government.--The Secretary shall take such
actions as may be necessary to ensure that minting and issuing coins
under this Act does not result in any net cost to the United States
Government.
(b) Payment for Coins.--The Secretary shall not issue a coin minted
under this Act unless the Secretary has first received--
(1) full payment for the coin;
(2) security satisfactory to the Secretary to indemnify the
United States for full payment; or
(3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to the
Secretary from a depository institution, the deposits of which
are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the
National Credit Union Administration Board.
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