S. 451: Girl Scouts USA Centennial Commemorative Coin Act

S. 451 IS (Introduced in Senate)

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

February 23, 2009

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Ms. STABENOW, Mrs. LINCOLN, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mrs. BOXER, and Mr. CORKER) 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 centennial of the establishment of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

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 `Girl Scouts USA Centennial Commemorative Coin Act’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds as follows:

(1) The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls where they build character and skills for success in the real world.

(2) In 1911, Juliette Gordon Low met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, a war hero and the founder of the Boy Scouts.

(3) With Baden-Powell’s help and encouragement, Juliette Gordon Low made plans to start a similar association for American girls.

(4) On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low organized the first 2 Girl Scout Troops in Savannah, Georgia consisting of 18 members.

(5) Low devoted the next 15 years of her life to building the organization, which would become the largest voluntary association for women and girls in the United States.

(6) Low drafted the Girl Scout laws, supervised the writing of the first handbook in 1913, and provided most of the financial support for the organization during its early years.

(7) The Girl Scouts of the United States of America was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 in title 36, United States Code.

(8) Today there are more than 3,700,000 members in 236,000 troops throughout the United States and United States territories.

(9) Through membership in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Girls Scouts of the United States of America is part of a worldwide family of 10,000,000 girls and adults in 145 countries.

(10) More than 50,000,000 American women enjoyed Girl Scouting during their childhood–and that number continues to grow as Girl Scouts of the United States of America continues to inspire, challenge, and empower girls everywhere.

(11) March 12, 2012, will mark the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

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 the centennial of the Girl Scouts of the USA, each of which shall–

(1) weigh 26.73 grams;

(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.

(a) Design Requirements-

(1) IN GENERAL- The design of the coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the centennial of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

(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 `2011′; 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 Girl Scouts of the United States of America 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.

(b) Mint Facility-

(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, 2011.

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.

(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 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 Girl Scouts of the United States of America to be made available for Girl Scout program development and delivery.

(c) Audits- The Comptroller General of the United States shall have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other data of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America as may be related to the expenditures of amounts paid under subsection (b).