H.R. 2123: 1863 Gettysburg Campaign Act

H.R. 2123 IH (Introduced in House)

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition of and to commemorate the 1863 invasion of Pennsylvania, the Battle of Gettysburg, and President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

April 27, 2009

Mr. PLATTS (for himself and Mr. ISRAEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition of and to commemorate the 1863 invasion of Pennsylvania, the Battle of Gettysburg, and President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

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 `1863 Gettysburg Campaign Act’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) The 1863 invasion of Pennsylvania and the resulting Battle of Gettysburg proved decisive in the final outcome of the American Civil War.

(2) President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address put the Civil War in perspective as a test of the success of the American Revolution.

(3) The Army Heritage Center Foundation works with the United States Army to establish, sponsor, support, promote, and maintain the United States Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

(4) The Army Heritage and Education Center is the Army’s premier center for the study of the role of the individual soldier in support of the Nation.

(5) The Civil War photograph and manuscript collection at the Center is considered one of the finest in the Nation.

(6) The Center seeks to honor the service and sacrifice of soldiers and their families, preserve the memories of their service by gathering and preserving artifact and manuscript collections, and to educate the public through a world class archives, museum displays, and engaging educational programs.

(7) The goal of the Center is promote an appreciation of the sacrifices that generations of American soldiers and their families have made to safeguard the freedoms of this Nation.

(8) The Army Heritage Center Foundation will, through donated support, fund and construct the public components of the Army Heritage and Education Center–the Visitor and Education Center and the Army Heritage Museum–and, once construction is complete, focus on providing `margin of excellence support’ to meet the needs of educational programs and other activities at the Army Heritage and Education Center for which Federal funds are unavailable.

(9) The Gettysburg Foundation is dedicated to supporting the Gettysburg National Military Park, a unit of the National Park Service, by–

(A) operating the new Museum and Visitor Center for the Park;

(B) funding the preservation and rehabilitation of the Park’s resources;

(C) preserving and displaying the Cyclorama painting; and

(D) providing visitors with an understanding of the significance of the Battle of Gettysburg within the context of the causes and consequences of the American Civil War.

(10) The Army Heritage Center Foundation and the Gettysburg Foundation are each nongovernmental, member-based, and publicly supported nonprofit organizations that are dependent on funds from members, donations, and grants for support.

(11) The Foundations use such support to help create and sustain the Gettysburg National Military Park and the Army Heritage and Education Center.

(12) The Gettysburg Foundation is recognized as the official partner of Gettysburg National Military Park and the Army Heritage Center Foundation is recognized by the Secretary of the Army as the lead agency supporting the development of the Army Heritage and Education Center.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

(a) Denominations- In recognition and commemoration of the 1863 Invasion of Pennsylvania, the decisive Battle of Gettysburg, and President Lincoln’s Gettysburg’s Address, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, 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 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.

(2) $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.

(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 design of the coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the history and memory of the Gettysburg campaign and President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

(2) DESIGNATIONS 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 `2013′; 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–

(1) contain motifs that specifically commemorate the 1863 invasion of Pennsylvania, the Battle at Gettysburg, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address;

(2) be selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Commission of Fine Arts; and

(3) be 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) Mint Facilities- For each of the 3 coins minted under this Act, at least 1 facility of the United States Mint shall be used to strike proof quality coins, while at least 1 other such facility shall be used to strike the uncirculated quality coins.

(c) Period for Issuance- The Secretary may issue coins minted under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 2013.

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 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 $5 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 as follows:

(1) ARMY HERITAGE CENTER FOUNDATION- 1/2 to the Army Heritage Center Foundation.

(2) GETTYSBURG FOUNDATION- 1/2 to the Gettysburg Foundation.

(c) Audits- The Army Heritage Center Foundation and the Gettysburg Foundation shall each be subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts received by each such Foundation 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.