| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 951 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration |
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| 6 | 6 | | of the continual recognition of the Nation’s semiquincentennial by hon- |
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| 7 | 7 | | oring over 250 years of Americans’ service and sacrifice. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 9 | 9 | | FEBRUARY4, 2025 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Ms. M |
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| 11 | 11 | | ALLIOTAKIS(for herself, Mr. HILLof Arkansas, and Mrs. WATSON |
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| 12 | 12 | | C |
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| 13 | 13 | | OLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- |
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| 14 | 14 | | mittee on Financial Services |
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| 15 | 15 | | A BILL |
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| 16 | 16 | | To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins |
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| 17 | 17 | | in commemoration of the continual recognition of the |
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| 18 | 18 | | Nation’s semiquincentennial by honoring over 250 years |
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| 19 | 19 | | of Americans’ service and sacrifice. |
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| 20 | 20 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 21 | 21 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 23 | 23 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘250 Years of Service 4 |
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| 24 | 24 | | and Sacrifice Commemorative Coin Act’’. 5 |
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| 25 | 25 | | SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 |
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| 26 | 26 | | The Congress finds the following: 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (1) July 4, 1776, marks the historic date when 1 |
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| 31 | 31 | | the unanimous Declaration of Independence was 2 |
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| 32 | 32 | | adopted, establishing the thirteen United States of 3 |
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| 33 | 33 | | America as a free and independent nation. 4 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) July 4, 2026, will commemorate the 250th 5 |
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| 35 | 35 | | anniversary of the Nation’s declaration of independ-6 |
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| 36 | 36 | | ence. 7 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (3) It is a long-standing tradition to honor sig-8 |
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| 38 | 38 | | nificant milestones in American history through the 9 |
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| 39 | 39 | | minting of commemorative coins. 10 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (4) The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foun-11 |
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| 41 | 41 | | dation exemplifies the principles of service and sac-12 |
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| 42 | 42 | | rifice that have defined the Nation for more than 13 |
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| 43 | 43 | | 250 years by providing financial support, housing 14 |
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| 44 | 44 | | assistance, and educational opportunities to Gold 15 |
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| 45 | 45 | | Star families, first responders, veterans, and their 16 |
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| 46 | 46 | | families, honoring the bravery and dedication of 17 |
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| 47 | 47 | | those who serve. 18 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (5) First responders have played a vital role in 19 |
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| 49 | 49 | | safeguarding American lives and communities since 20 |
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| 50 | 50 | | the Nation’s founding, dating back to the first pub-21 |
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| 51 | 51 | | licly funded, paid fire department established in 22 |
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| 52 | 52 | | Boston in 1678. 23 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (6) During the Civil War (1861–1865), first re-24 |
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| 54 | 54 | | sponders, including battlefield medics and fire-25 |
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| 58 | 58 | | fighters, played critical roles in saving lives and miti-1 |
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| 59 | 59 | | gating destruction, reinforcing their importance in 2 |
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| 60 | 60 | | times of national crisis. 3 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (7) Gold Star families, who have made the ulti-4 |
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| 62 | 62 | | mate sacrifice in service to the Nation, have endured 5 |
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| 63 | 63 | | profound loss while upholding the principles of free-6 |
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| 64 | 64 | | dom and democracy. Their resilience and dedication 7 |
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| 65 | 65 | | to honoring their fallen loved ones continue to in-8 |
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| 66 | 66 | | spire and strengthen communities across America. 9 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (8) First responders embody the ideals of ‘‘life, 10 |
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| 68 | 68 | | liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’’ by safe-11 |
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| 69 | 69 | | guarding lives and communities, representing a mod-12 |
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| 70 | 70 | | ern continuation of the sacrifices made during the 13 |
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| 71 | 71 | | fight for independence. 14 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (9) The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foun-15 |
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| 73 | 73 | | dation’s mission ensures that the legacy of service 16 |
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| 74 | 74 | | and sacrifice is preserved and that those who dedi-17 |
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| 75 | 75 | | cate their lives to protecting others are never forgot-18 |
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| 76 | 76 | | ten. 19 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (10) The issuance of this commemorative coin 20 |
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| 78 | 78 | | will raise awareness of the sacrifices made by Gold 21 |
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| 79 | 79 | | Star families, first responders, veterans, and their 22 |
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| 80 | 80 | | families, fostering a deeper understanding of their 23 |
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| 81 | 81 | | role in upholding the freedoms envisioned in the 24 |
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| 82 | 82 | | Declaration of Independence. 25 |
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| 85 | 85 | | •HR 951 IH |
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| 86 | 86 | | (11) Congress has a long-standing tradition of 1 |
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| 87 | 87 | | authorizing commemorative coins to celebrate the 2 |
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| 88 | 88 | | Nation’s history and the contributions of its citizens 3 |
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| 89 | 89 | | and organizations to preserving liberty and justice 4 |
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| 90 | 90 | | for all. 5 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (12) Proceeds from the surcharges on the sale 6 |
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| 92 | 92 | | of these commemorative coins will directly benefit 7 |
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| 93 | 93 | | the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 8 |
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| 94 | 94 | | enabling the continuation of its impactful programs 9 |
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| 95 | 95 | | that support Gold Star families, first responders, 10 |
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| 96 | 96 | | veterans, and their families. 11 |
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| 97 | 97 | | SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 12 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (a) D |
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| 99 | 99 | | ENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas-13 |
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| 100 | 100 | | ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 14 |
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| 101 | 101 | | shall mint and issue the following coins in continual rec-15 |
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| 102 | 102 | | ognition of the Nation’s semiquincentennial by honoring 16 |
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| 103 | 103 | | over 250 years of Americans’ service and sacrifice: 17 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (1) $5.00 |
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| 105 | 105 | | GOLD COINS.—Not more than 18 |
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| 106 | 106 | | 100,000 $5.00 coins, which shall— 19 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 20 |
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| 108 | 108 | | (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 21 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (C) contain at least 90 percent gold. 22 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (2) $1 |
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| 111 | 111 | | SILVER COINS.—Not more than 500,000 23 |
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| 112 | 112 | | $1 coins, which shall— 24 |
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| 113 | 113 | | (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 25 |
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| 117 | 117 | | (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 1 |
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| 118 | 118 | | (C) contain not less than 90 percent silver. 2 |
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| 119 | 119 | | (3) H |
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| 120 | 120 | | ALF-DOLLAR CLAD COINS .—Not more 3 |
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| 121 | 121 | | than 750,000 half dollar coins, which shall— 4 |
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| 122 | 122 | | (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 5 |
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| 123 | 123 | | (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 6 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (C) be minted to the specifications for half- 7 |
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| 125 | 125 | | dollar coins, contained in section 5112(b) of 8 |
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| 126 | 126 | | title 31, United States Code. 9 |
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| 127 | 127 | | (b) L |
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| 128 | 128 | | EGALTENDER.—The coins minted under this 10 |
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| 129 | 129 | | Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of 11 |
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| 130 | 130 | | title 31, United States Code. 12 |
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| 131 | 131 | | (c) N |
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| 132 | 132 | | UMISMATICITEMS.—For purposes of sections 13 |
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| 133 | 133 | | 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 14 |
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| 134 | 134 | | minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis-15 |
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| 135 | 135 | | matic items. 16 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (d) M |
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| 137 | 137 | | INTAGELIMITEXCEPTION.—If the Secretary 17 |
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| 138 | 138 | | determines, based on independent, market based research 18 |
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| 139 | 139 | | conducted by the designated recipient organization identi-19 |
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| 140 | 140 | | fied in section 7(b) that the mintage levels described under 20 |
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| 141 | 141 | | this subsection are not adequate to meet public demand, 21 |
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| 142 | 142 | | the Secretary may increase the mintage levels as the Sec-22 |
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| 143 | 143 | | retary determines is necessary to meet public demand. 23 |
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| 144 | 144 | | SEC. 4. DESIGNS OF COINS. 24 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (a) D |
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| 146 | 146 | | ESIGNREQUIREMENTS.— 25 |
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| 149 | 149 | | •HR 951 IH |
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| 150 | 150 | | (1) IN GENERAL.—The designs of the coins 1 |
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| 151 | 151 | | minted under this Act shall be emblematic of over 2 |
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| 152 | 152 | | 250 years of American’s service and sacrifice. 3 |
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| 153 | 153 | | (2) D |
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| 154 | 154 | | ESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS .—On 4 |
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| 155 | 155 | | each coin minted under this Act, there shall be— 5 |
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| 156 | 156 | | (A) a designation of the value of the coin; 6 |
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| 157 | 157 | | (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2028’’; and 7 |
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| 158 | 158 | | (C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 8 |
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| 159 | 159 | | ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer-9 |
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| 160 | 160 | | ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 10 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (b) S |
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| 162 | 162 | | ELECTION.—The designs for the coins minted 11 |
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| 163 | 163 | | under this Act shall be— 12 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 13 |
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| 165 | 165 | | with the Stephen Siller-Tunnel to Towers Founda-14 |
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| 166 | 166 | | tion and the Commission of Fine Arts; and 15 |
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| 167 | 167 | | (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 16 |
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| 168 | 168 | | Committee. 17 |
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| 169 | 169 | | SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 18 |
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| 170 | 170 | | (a) Q |
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| 171 | 171 | | UALITY OFCOINS.—Coins minted under this 19 |
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| 172 | 172 | | Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 20 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (b) P |
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| 174 | 174 | | ERIOD FORISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 21 |
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| 175 | 175 | | issue coins under this Act only during the period begin-22 |
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| 176 | 176 | | ning on January 1, 2028, and ending on December 31, 23 |
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| 177 | 177 | | 2028. 24 |
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| 181 | 181 | | SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 1 |
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| 182 | 182 | | (a) S |
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| 183 | 183 | | ALEPRICE.—The coins issued under this Act 2 |
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| 184 | 184 | | shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum 3 |
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| 185 | 185 | | of— 4 |
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| 186 | 186 | | (1) the face value of the coins; 5 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with 6 |
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| 188 | 188 | | respect to such coins; and 7 |
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| 189 | 189 | | (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 8 |
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| 190 | 190 | | (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 9 |
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| 191 | 191 | | overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 10 |
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| 192 | 192 | | (b) B |
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| 193 | 193 | | ULKSALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 11 |
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| 194 | 194 | | sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable 12 |
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| 195 | 195 | | discount. 13 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (c) P |
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| 197 | 197 | | REPAIDORDERS.— 14 |
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| 198 | 198 | | (1) I |
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| 199 | 199 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 15 |
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| 200 | 200 | | prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 16 |
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| 201 | 201 | | before the issuance of such coins. 17 |
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| 202 | 202 | | (2) D |
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| 203 | 203 | | ISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre-18 |
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| 204 | 204 | | paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea-19 |
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| 205 | 205 | | sonable discount. 20 |
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| 206 | 206 | | SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 21 |
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| 207 | 207 | | (a) I |
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| 208 | 208 | | NGENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 22 |
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| 209 | 209 | | Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 23 |
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| 210 | 210 | | (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the gold 24 |
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| 211 | 211 | | coins. 25 |
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| 215 | 215 | | (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the silver 1 |
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| 216 | 216 | | coins. 2 |
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| 217 | 217 | | (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dol-3 |
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| 218 | 218 | | lar coins. 4 |
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| 219 | 219 | | (b) D |
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| 220 | 220 | | ISTRIBUTION.—All surcharges received by the 5 |
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| 221 | 221 | | Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall 6 |
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| 222 | 222 | | be allocated to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foun-7 |
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| 223 | 223 | | dation to support programs that provide mortgage-free 8 |
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| 224 | 224 | | homes to Gold Star families, the families of first respond-9 |
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| 225 | 225 | | ers killed in the line of duty, scholarships for their chil-10 |
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| 226 | 226 | | dren, resources for disaster response teams, and memorial 11 |
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| 227 | 227 | | projects honoring their service and sacrifice. These efforts 12 |
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| 228 | 228 | | serve as a living tribute to the enduring legacy of those 13 |
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| 229 | 229 | | who have safeguarded and advanced the ideals of the Dec-14 |
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| 230 | 230 | | laration of Independence from its signing to the present 15 |
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| 231 | 231 | | day. 16 |
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| 232 | 232 | | (c) A |
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| 233 | 233 | | UDITS.—The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 17 |
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| 234 | 234 | | Foundation shall be subject to the audit requirements of 18 |
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| 235 | 235 | | section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with 19 |
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| 236 | 236 | | regard to the amounts received under subsection (b). 20 |
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| 237 | 237 | | (d) L |
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| 238 | 238 | | IMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 21 |
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| 239 | 239 | | no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 22 |
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| 240 | 240 | | under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as 23 |
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| 241 | 241 | | of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 24 |
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| 242 | 242 | | would result in the number of commemorative coin pro-25 |
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| 246 | 246 | | grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 1 |
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| 247 | 247 | | commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 2 |
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| 248 | 248 | | section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code. The 3 |
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| 249 | 249 | | Secretary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 4 |
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| 250 | 250 | | this subsection. 5 |
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| 251 | 251 | | SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 6 |
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| 252 | 252 | | The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec-7 |
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| 253 | 253 | | essary to ensure that— 8 |
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| 254 | 254 | | (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 9 |
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| 255 | 255 | | will not result in any net cost to the United States 10 |
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| 256 | 256 | | Government; and 11 |
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| 257 | 257 | | (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 12 |
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| 258 | 258 | | shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec-13 |
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| 259 | 259 | | tion 7(b) until the total cost of designing and issuing 14 |
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| 260 | 260 | | all of the coins authorized by this Act (including 15 |
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| 261 | 261 | | labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex-16 |
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| 262 | 262 | | penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the 17 |
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| 263 | 263 | | United States Treasury, consistent with sections 18 |
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| 264 | 264 | | 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 19 |
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| 265 | 265 | | Code. 20 |
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| 266 | 266 | | Æ |
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