[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2957 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2957
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in
recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the
Moon.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 19, 2016
Mr. Nelson (for himself, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Peters)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in
recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the
Moon.
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 ``Apollo 11 50th Anniversary
Commemorative Coin Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched
from Launch Complex 39-A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center
carrying Neil Armstrong, Edwin ``Buzz'' Aldrin, and Michael
Collins, who would become the first of human kind to complete a
crewed lunar landing;
(2) the United States is the only country ever to have
attempted and succeeded in landing humans on a celestial body
off the Earth and safely returning them home, completing an
unprecedented engineering, scientific and political
achievement;
(3) the Apollo 11 mission, culminating in humanity's first
steps on the Moon on July 20, 1969, honored the fallen
astronauts of the Apollo 1 crew, whose innovative work and
bravery will be remembered forever;
(4) Apollo 11 accomplished the national goal set forth in
1961 by President John F. Kennedy, who stated at Rice
University the following year, ``We choose to go to the Moon.
We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other
things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,
because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best
of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that
we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and
one which we intend to win'';
(5) at the height of the Cold War, the Apollo space program
provided the United States and the free world with a powerful
symbolic win, demonstrating the strength, ambition, and
determination of the United States in technological and
economic advancement, and securing our Nation's leadership in
space for generations to come;
(6) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(referred to in this Act as ``NASA'') developed the most
powerful launch vehicle in history, the Saturn V rocket, which
was used for the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s;
(7) the Saturn V weighed 6,200,000 pounds and generated
7,600,000 million pounds of thrust, which NASA has equated to
generating more power than 86 Hoover Dams;
(8) during the time period from 1969 through 1972, NASA
completed 8 Apollo missions and landed 12 men on the Moon;
(9) the 6 missions that landed on the Moon returned with a
wealth of groundbreaking scientific data and over 800 pounds of
lunar samples;
(10) an estimated 400,000 Americans contributed to the
successful program that led to the lunar landing on July 20,
1969, including NASA scientists, engineers, astronauts,
industry contractors and their engineering and manufacturing
workforce, as well as the political leadership of Republicans
and Democrats in Congress and the White House;
(11) the Apollo program, along with its predecessor Mercury
and Gemini programs, inspired generations of American students
to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics, which has fueled innovation and economic growth
throughout a range of industries over the last 4 decades; and
(12) July 20, 2019, will mark the 50th anniversary of the
Apollo 11 landing of Neil Armstrong and Edwin ``Buzz'' Aldrin
on the lunar surface.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations.--In recognition and celebration of the 50th
anniversary of the first manned Moon landing, 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) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of
0.850 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90 percent gold.
(2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 400,000 $1 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 26.73 grams;
(B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of
1.500 inches; and
(C) contain at least 90 percent silver.
(3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 750,000 half-
dollar coins which shall--
(A) weigh 11.34 grams;
(B) be struck on a planchet having 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.
(4) Proof silver $1 coins.--Not more than 100,000 proof $1
silver coins which shall--
(A) weigh 5 ounces;
(B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of 3
inches; and
(C) contain .999 fine silver.
(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.
(d) Convex Shape.--
(1) In general.--The coins minted under this Act shall be
produced in a fashion similar to the 2014 National Baseball
Hall of Fame 75th Anniversary Commemorative Coin, so that the
reverse of the coin is convex to more closely resemble the
faceplate of the astronaut's helmet of the time and the obverse
concave, providing a more dramatic display of the obverse
design chosen pursuant to section 4(c).
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that,
to the extent possible without significantly adding to the
purchase price of the coins, the coins minted under this Act
should be produced with the design of the reverse of the coins
continuing over what would otherwise be the edge of the coins,
such that the reverse design extends all the way to the obverse
design.
SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.
(a) In General.--The design for the coins minted under this Act
shall be--
(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with--
(A) the Commission of Fine Arts; and
(B) with respect to the design of the reverse of
the coins, the Administrator of NASA; and
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
(b) Designations and Inscriptions.--On each coin minted under this
Act there shall be--
(1) a designation of the denomination of the coin;
(2) an inscription of the year ``2019''; and
(3) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We
Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E Pluribus Unum''.
(c) Selection and Approval Process for Obverse Design.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall hold a juried,
compensated competition to determine the design of the common
obverse of the coins minted under this Act, with such design
being emblematic of the United States space program leading up
to the first manned Moon landing.
(2) Selection process.--Proposals for the obverse design of
coins minted under this Act may be submitted in accordance with
the design selection and approval process developed by the
Secretary in the sole discretion of the Secretary.
(3) Proposals.--As part of the competition described in
this subsection, the Secretary may accept proposals from
artists, engravers of the United States Mint, and members of
the general public, and any designs submitted for the design
review process described herein shall be anonymized until a
final selection is made.
(4) Compensation.--The Secretary shall determine
compensation for the winning design under this subsection,
which shall be not less than $5,000.
(d) Reverse Design.--The design on the common reverse of the coins
minted under this Act shall be a representation of a close-up of the
famous ``Buzz Aldrin on the Moon'' photograph taken July 20, 1969,
showing just the visor and part of the helmet of astronaut Edwin
``Buzz'' Aldrin, in which the visor reflects the image of the United
States flag, astronaut Neil Armstrong, and the lunar lander.
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.
(a) Quality of Coins.--Except with respect to coins described under
section 3(a)(4), coins minted under this Act shall be issued in
uncirculated and proof qualities.
(b) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1,
2019.
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, winning design
compensation, 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 described
under section 3(a)(2).
(3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin.
(4) A surcharge of $50 per coin for the $1 coin described
under section 3(a)(4).
(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) One half to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air
and Space Museum's ``Destination Moon'' exhibit, for design,
education, and installation costs related to establishing and
maintaining the exhibit, and for costs related to creating a
traveling version of the exhibition.
(2) One quarter to the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, for
costs related to the preservation, maintenance, and enhancement
of the Astronauts Memorial and for promotion of space
exploration through educational initiatives.
(3) One quarter to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, to
aid its missions of promoting the importance of science and
technology to the general public and of aiding the United
States in retaining its world leadership in science and
technology by providing college scholarships for the very best
and brightest students pursuing degrees in science, technology,
engineering, or mathematics.
(c) Audits.--The recipients described under subsection (b) shall be
subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31,
United States Code, with regard to the amounts received 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 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.
SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure
that--
(1) minting and issuing coins under this Act will not
result in any net cost to the United States Government; and
(2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, are
disbursed to any recipient designated in section 7 until the
total cost of designing and issuing all of the coins authorized
by this Act (including labor, materials, dies, use of
machinery, winning design compensation, overhead expenses,
marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United States
Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title
31, United States Code.
SEC. 9. BUDGET COMPLIANCE.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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