FILE s817.is
S 817 IS
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in
commemoration of Native American history and culture.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 18 (legislative day, May 15), 1995
Mr. Campbell (for himself, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Mack, Mr.
DeWine, and Mr. McCain) 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 Native American history and culture.
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 `United States Buffalo Nickel Act of
1995'.
SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations: Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
during the 3-year period beginning on January 1, 1998, the
Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
`Secretary') shall mint and issue each year not more than 1,000,000
5-cent coins, which shall--
(1) weigh 5 grams;
(2) have a diameter of 0.835 inches; and
(3) contain an alloy of 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 section 5134 of title 31,
United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 3. SOURCES OF BULLION.
The Secretary shall obtain silver for minting coins under this
Act only from stockpiles established under the Strategic and
Critical Materials Stockpiling Act.
SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.
(a) Design Requirements:
(1) In general: The design of the coins minted under this Act
shall be a reproduction of the original 5-cent coin designed by
James Earle Fraser and minted from 1913 to 1938, depicting on
the obverse side a profile of a Native American, and on the
reverse side a buffalo.
(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; and
(C) inscriptions of the words `United States of America',
`Liberty', 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
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the
Committee on Indian Affairs of the United States Senate, and
the Commission of Fine Arts; and
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin 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 1 facility of the United States Mint may
be used to strike any particular combination of denomination and
quality of the coins minted under this Act.
(c) Commencement of Issuance: The Secretary may issue coins
minted under this Act beginning January 1, 1998.
(d) Termination of Minting Authority: No coins may be minted
under this Act after December 31, 2000.
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 subsection (d) 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.
(d) Surcharges: All sales shall include a surcharge of $1.00 per
coin.
SEC. 7. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS.
(a) In General: Except as provided in subsection (b), no
provision of law governing procurement or public contracts shall be
applicable to the procurement of goods and services necessary for
carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(b) Equal Employment Opportunity: Subsection (a) shall not
relieve any person entering into a contract under the authority of
this Act from complying with any law relating to equal employment
opportunity.
SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.
(a) Park Maintenance and Upkeep Fund: There shall be established
among the depository accounts of the National Park Foundation
(hereafter in this Act referred to as `the Foundation'), a
charitable and non-profit corporation established under the Act of
December 18, 1967 (81 Stat. 656; 16 U.S.C. 19en), an account to be
known as the `Park Maintenance and Upkeep Fund' (hereafter in this
Act referred to as `the Fund'). Monies deposited in the Fund shall
be expended solely and exclusively on the maintenance, repair, and
general upkeep of facilities including, but not limited to,
buildings, trails and utilities, within units of the National Park
System. Under no circumstances will monies from the Fund be used
for the construction of new facilities.
(b) Deposits: Surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale
of coins issued under this Act shall be paid promptly by the
Secretary to the Foundation for deposit in the Fund. Surcharges
shall at no time be considered revenues to the Treasury of the
United States and shall not be considered a basis for offset of
appropriations which would otherwise be made to the National Park
Service.
(c) Allocations: The Foundation shall allocate monies from the
Fund to units of the National Park System for the purposes
enumerated in subsection (a). Allocations shall be made in
accordance with criteria developed by the Foundation, to meet
priority needs identified by the National Park Service.
(d) Audits: The Comptroller General of the United States shall
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other
data of the Fund as may be related to the expenditures of amounts
paid under subsection (b).
SEC. 9. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.
(a) No Net Cost to the Government: The Secretary shall take such
actions as may be necessary to ensure that minting and issuing
coins under this Act will not result in any net cost to the United
States Government.
(b) Payment for Coins: A coin shall not be issued under this Act
unless the Secretary has received--
(1) full payment for the coin;
(2) security satisfactory to the Secretary to indemnify the
United States for full payment; or
(3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to the Secretary
from a depository institution whose deposits are insured by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the National Credit
Union Administration Board.
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