[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 921 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 921
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of the 100 year anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 24, 2017
Mr. Moran (for himself and Mr. Roberts) 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 coins in commemoration
of the 100 year anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division.
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 ``Duty First Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the 1st Infantry Division was constituted on May 24,
1917, and is the first and oldest permanently established
combat division of the United States Army; 2017 is the
centennial of the Division;
(2) the 1st Infantry Division has been in continuous
service since its establishment;
(3) the 1st Infantry Division has fought with distinction
in every major conflict since 1917 except the Korean War, when
it was on occupation duty in Germany;
(4) in World War I, the then-First Expeditionary Division
was the first United States division to arrive in France,
firing the first United States shots of the war, suffering the
first casualties, and securing the first United States victory
at the Battle of Cantigny in May, 1918;
(5) the Battle of Cantigny was also the first modern,
combined arms battle in the history of the United States;
(6) the First Expeditionary Division fought with
distinction in all subsequent campaigns and, after occupation
duty in Germany, was the last combat division to return home in
1919;
(7) 5 First Expeditionary Division soldiers received the
Medal of Honor in World War I;
(8) in World War II, the 1st Infantry Division was the
first to deploy to Europe, fighting in North Africa and Sicily
in 1942 and 1943;
(9) General George S. Patton, Jr., commander of the Seventh
Army of the United States in the Mediterranean, stated that he
would not invade Sicily without the 1st Infantry Division as
the assault division;
(10) the 1st Infantry Division was the lead assault
division on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944;
(11) against frightful odds and despite multiple
challenges, the 1st Infantry Division secured a beach head on a
day when failure could have altered the outcome of the war;
(12) the 1st Infantry Division played pivotal roles in the
liberation of France and Belgium, the Battle of the Bulge, the
crossing of the Rhine River, and the invasion and defeat of
Nazi Germany;
(13) after the war, the 1st Infantry Division supported and
secured the International Military Tribunal at Nuremburg,
Germany, guarding infamous Nazi officials during the courtroom
proceedings;
(14) 17 1st Infantry Division soldiers received the Medal
of Honor in World War II;
(15) the 1st Infantry Division was the only United States
combat division in Europe from 1946 to 1951, returning to the
United States and Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1955;
(16) the 1st Infantry Division was one of the first 2
combat divisions deployed to Vietnam in 1965, defending the
vital Highway 13 corridor against enemy infiltration from
Cambodia to the capital at Saigon;
(17) the 1st Infantry Division fought gallantly in
Operation Junction City, the largest operation of the war, in
1967 and in all 3 waves of the Tet Offensive in 1968;
(18) 12 1st Infantry Division soldiers received the Medal
of Honor in Vietnam;
(19) the 1st Infantry Division deterred Soviet aggression
against NATO Europe from 1970 to 1990 with a brigade in Germany
and the rest of the division deploying there annually from Fort
Riley in REFORGER exercises that demonstrated United States
capability and resolve until the Cold War ended;
(20) the 1st Infantry Division deployed to Saudi Arabia in
1991 in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, attacking to
breach the Iraqi defenses, racing across the desert with the
VII Corps of the United States Army, destroying the Iraqi
Republican Guard Tawakalna Division;
(21) the 1st Infantry Division enforced international peace
agreements in Bosnia for 31 months between 1996 and 2000, for 4
months in Macedonia in 1999, and for 22 months in Kosovo
between 1999 and 2003;
(22) the 1st Infantry Division deployed to Iraq in 2004 to
2005 in Operation Iraqi Freedom II, the initial occupation of
Iraq, and helped achieve the first free and fair elections in
the history of Iraq;
(23) the 1st Infantry Division brigade combat teams and
other elements deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan
between 2003 and 2014;
(24) the 1st Infantry Division provided the first
``regionally aligned force'' (RAF) to the United States Africa
Command and provided military assistance to friendly
governments across the continent of Africa;
(25) to combat the growing ISIS threat, the 1st Infantry
Division soldiers have deployed to Iraq and Kuwait to assist
the Iraqi Security Forces and other friendly countries in that
vital and unstable region;
(26) the 1st Infantry Division will be deployed to Iraq,
Afghanistan, and Korea in 2016 and 2017, its centennial year;
(27) 35 soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division have been
decorated with the Medal of Honor, and countless others have
distinguished themselves in combat;
(28) the 1st Infantry Division has earned several unit
decorations, including 2 Meritorious Unit Commendations, 3
French Croix de Guerre, 1 Belgian Fourragere, Republic of
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, 1 Republic of Vietnam
Civil Action Honor Medal, and was cited twice in the Order of
the Day of the Belgian Army; and
(29) the 1st Infantry Division has served the United States
with great valor and distinction since its organization, living
up to its motto, ``No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too
great--Duty First''.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATION.
(a) Denominations.--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 20,000 $5 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 8.359 grams;
(B) have a diameter of .850 inches; and
(C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
(2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 100,000 $1 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 26.73 grams;
(B) have the diameter of 1.50 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90 percent silver.
(3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 200,000 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 the purposes of section 5134 of title
31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be
considered to 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 100 year anniversary of the 1st
Infantry Division.
(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 2018; 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
Society of the 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. Army Center
of Military History; 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 the West Point 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 minted
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1,
2018.
SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.
(1) Sale price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be
sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
(A) the face value of the coins;
(B) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with
respect to such coins; and
(C) the cost of designing and issuing the coins
(including labor, material, dies, use of machinery,
overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).
(2) Bulk sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the
coins issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
(3) Prepaid orders.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid
orders for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance
of such coins.
SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.
(a) In General.--All sales of coins issued under this Act shall
include a surcharge of--
(1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin;
(2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and
(3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin.
(b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f)(1) 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 Society of the 1st Infantry Division for renovation of
the existing 1st Infantry Division Memorial located in the District of
Columbia.
(c) Audits.--The Society of the 1st Infantry Division 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 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.
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