Lions Clubs International Century of Service Commemorative Coin Act, H.R. 2139

H.R. 2139 (IH – Introduced in House)

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of Lions Clubs International.

June 3, 2011

Mr. ROSKAM (for himself, Mr. KISSELL, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. BONNER, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. COBLE, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DOLD, Mr. GERLACH, Ms. HAYWORTH, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. JONES, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. SCHOCK, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TURNER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WALSH of Illinois, Mr. WOLF, and Mr. QUIGLEY) 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 the centennial of the establishment of Lions Clubs International.

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 `Lions Clubs International Century of Service Commemorative Coin Act’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds as follows:

(1) Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization founded in 1917 by Chicago business leader Melvin Jones. Lions Clubs International empowers volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs.

(2) Today, Lions Clubs International has over 1.35 million members in more than 45,000 clubs globally, extending its mission of service throughout the world every day.

(3) In 1945, Lions Clubs International became one of the first nongovernmental organizations invited to assist in drafting the United Nations Charter and has enjoyed a special relationship with the United Nations ever since.

(4) In 1968, Lions Clubs International Foundation was established to assist with global and large-scale local humanitarian projects and has since then awarded more than $700 million to fund five unique areas of service: preserving sight, combating disability, promoting health, serving youth and providing disaster relief.

(5) In 1990, the Lions Clubs International Foundation launched the SightFirst program to build comprehensive eye care systems to fight the major causes of blindness and care for the blind or visually impaired. Thanks to the generosity of Lions worldwide, over $415 million has been raised, resulting in the prevention of serious vision loss in 30 million people and improved eye care for hundreds of millions of people.

(6) On June 7, 2017, Lions Clubs International will celebrate 100 years of community service to men, women, and children in need throughout the world.

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 400,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the centennial of the founding of the Lions Clubs International, 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 Lions Clubs International.

(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 `2017′; 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) chosen by the Secretary after consultation with Lions Clubs International Special Centennial Planning Committee 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- Only one facility of the United States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality of the coins minted under this Act.

(c) Period for Issuance- The Secretary may issue coins under this Act only during the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2017.

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 promptly paid by the Secretary to the Lions Clubs International Foundation for the purposes of–

(1) furthering its programs for the blind and visually impaired in the United States and abroad;

(2) investing in adaptive technologies for the disabled; and

(3) investing in youth and those affected by a major disaster.

(c) Audits- The Comptroller General of the United States shall have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other data of the Lions Clubs International 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. The Secretary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection