Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB877 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
OldNewDifferences
11 II
22 119THCONGRESS
33 1
44 STSESSION S. 877
55 To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in
66 recognition of the life and legacy of Roberto Clemente.
77 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
88 MARCH6, 2025
99 Mr. S
1010 CHUMER(for himself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill;
1111 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Hous-
1212 ing, and Urban Affairs
1313 A BILL
1414 To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemo-
1515 rative coins in recognition of the life and legacy of Ro-
1616 berto Clemente.
1717 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
1818 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
1919 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
2020 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Roberto Clemente 4
2121 Commemorative Coin Act’’. 5
2222 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
2323 The Congress finds the following: 7
2424 (1) Roberto Clemente Walker was born on Au-8
2525 gust 18, 1934, to Don Melchor Clemente and Luisa 9
2626 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
2727 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2
2828 •S 877 IS
2929 Walker in Barrio San Anto´n, Carolina, Puerto Rico, 1
3030 as the youngest of 7 children. 2
3131 (2) Clemente excelled in athletics as a young-3
3232 ster and, at the age of 17, was playing for the 4
3333 Santurce Cangrejeros ‘‘Crabbers’’ of the Puerto 5
3434 Rican Baseball League. 6
3535 (3) In 1954, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected 7
3636 Clemente in the first round of the Major League 8
3737 Baseball Rule 5 draft. 9
3838 (4) Pirates center fielder Earl Smith wore jer-10
3939 sey number 21 until he parted ways with the team 11
4040 in April 1955, and Clemente wore number 13 until 12
4141 then. 13
4242 (5) In 1955, Clemente made his Major League 14
4343 debut as he went on to play for the Pittsburgh Pi-15
4444 rates, starting as a right fielder. 16
4545 (6) When the team traveled to Richmond, Vir-17
4646 ginia, for games or Florida for spring training, 18
4747 Clemente encountered Jim Crow laws for the first 19
4848 time when the Black players had to stay at a sepa-20
4949 rate, inferior hotel and were refused the option to 21
5050 dine with their White counterparts. 22
5151 (7) Clemente was known for being a proud 23
5252 Afro-Latino and protested the discrimination that 24
5353 Latin and Black ball players encountered. 25
5454 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
5555 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3
5656 •S 877 IS
5757 (8) Clemente was known for defending the 1
5858 rights of Black and Brown people, both on the field 2
5959 and in the streets. 3
6060 (9) After the assassination of Martin Luther 4
6161 King, Jr., in 1968, Clemente and his teammates re-5
6262 fused to play until after the funerals and even wrote 6
6363 a public statement showing their respect for Dr. 7
6464 King. 8
6565 (10) Clemente became a union leader in the in-9
6666 cipient Major League Baseball Players Association 10
6767 and defended players’ rights to demand better work-11
6868 ing conditions and benefits. 12
6969 (11) In every city where the Pirates played, 13
7070 Clemente visited sick children in hospitals. 14
7171 (12) Clemente established training clinics, pro-15
7272 viding baseball lessons and fun for boys and girls in 16
7373 Pittsburgh, his home island of Puerto Rico, and 17
7474 throughout Latin America. 18
7575 (13) In 1958, Clemente enlisted in the United 19
7676 States Marine Corps Reserve after the 1958 season 20
7777 and spent 6 months on active duty at Parris Island, 21
7878 South Carolina, and Camp LeJeune, North Caro-22
7979 lina. 23
8080 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
8181 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4
8282 •S 877 IS
8383 (14) Clemente served until 1964 and was in-1
8484 ducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame 2
8585 in 2003. 3
8686 (15) By the end of his career, Clemente had 4
8787 joined the exclusive 3,000-hit club, was selected to 5
8888 15 All-Star teams, and won 12 Gold Gloves, 2 World 6
8989 Series, and a National League MVP award. 7
9090 (16) In Clemente’s 18 seasons with Pittsburgh 8
9191 he won 4 batting titles, hit 240 home runs, and 9
9292 posted a lifetime .317 batting average. 10
9393 (17) In late 1972, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake 11
9494 ravaged Managua, Nicaragua, and killed 5,000 peo-12
9595 ple. 13
9696 (18) In his philanthropic spirit, Clemente sent 14
9797 shipments of humanitarian aid to the country. 15
9898 (19) After learning that 3 previous shipments 16
9999 had been diverted by corrupt Somoza Government 17
100100 officials, Clemente decided to accompany one of the 18
101101 aid shipments. 19
102102 (20) The four-engine DC–7 plane Clemente 20
103103 chartered for a flight on New Year’s Eve crashed in 21
104104 the Atlantic Ocean immediately after takeoff from 22
105105 the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. 23
106106 (21) On December 31, 1972, Clemente died in 24
107107 the plane crash at the age of 38 years young. 25
108108 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
109109 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5
110110 •S 877 IS
111111 (22) Since 1973, Major League Baseball gives 1
112112 out the Roberto Clemente Award to one player in 2
113113 the league who ‘‘best exemplifies the game of base-3
114114 ball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the 4
115115 individual’s contribution to his team’’. 5
116116 (23) In 2002, Major League Baseball declared 6
117117 the first annual Roberto Clemente Day. 7
118118 (24) In 2021, Major League Baseball an-8
119119 nounced September 15 would be the permanent date 9
120120 of Roberto Clemente Day to coincide with the begin-10
121121 ning of Hispanic Heritage month. 11
122122 (25) Clemente was the first Latino player to ac-12
123123 complish many feats in Major League Baseball. 13
124124 (26) Clemente was the first Puerto Rican, and 14
125125 first person of Latino heritage, to win a World Se-15
126126 ries as a starter, be named league MVP, be named 16
127127 World Series MVP, and be elected to the Hall of 17
128128 Fame. 18
129129 (27) Clemente was posthumously elected to the 19
130130 National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, being the 20
131131 first National League baseball player to receive the 21
132132 mandatory 5-year waiting period waiver. 22
133133 (28) Clemente was a legend in life and death, 23
134134 a baseball star, a humanitarian activist, and a sym-24
135135 bol of Latin American pride. 25
136136 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
137137 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6
138138 •S 877 IS
139139 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 1
140140 (a) D
141141 ENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas-2
142142 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 3
143143 shall mint and issue the following coins: 4
144144 (1) $5
145145 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 5
146146 coins, which shall— 6
147147 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 7
148148 (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 8
149149 (C) contain not less than 90 percent gold. 9
150150 (2) $1
151151 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 10
152152 $1 coins, which shall— 11
153153 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 12
154154 (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 13
155155 (C) contain not less than 90 percent silver. 14
156156 (3) H
157157 ALF-DOLLAR CLAD COINS .—Not more 15
158158 than 750,000 half-dollar coins which shall— 16
159159 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 17
160160 (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 18
161161 (C) be minted to the specifications for half- 19
162162 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 20
163163 31, United States Code. 21
164164 (b) L
165165 EGALTENDER.—The coins minted under this 22
166166 Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of 23
167167 title 31, United States Code. 24
168168 (c) N
169169 UMISMATICITEMS.—For purposes of sections 25
170170 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 26
171171 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
172172 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7
173173 •S 877 IS
174174 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis-1
175175 matic items. 2
176176 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 3
177177 (a) D
178178 ESIGNREQUIREMENTS.— 4
179179 (1) I
180180 N GENERAL.—The designs of the coins 5
181181 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the life 6
182182 of Roberto Clemente, including his human rights ac-7
183183 tivism and baseball stardom legacy. At least 1 ob-8
184184 verse design shall bear the image of Roberto 9
185185 Clemente. 10
186186 (2) D
187187 ESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS .—On 11
188188 each coin minted under this Act, there shall be— 12
189189 (A) an inscription of Roberto Clemente; 13
190190 (B) a designation of the value of the coin; 14
191191 (C) an inscription of the year ‘‘2027’’; and 15
192192 (D) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 16
193193 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer-17
194194 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 18
195195 (b) S
196196 ELECTION.—The designs for the coins minted 19
197197 under this Act shall be— 20
198198 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 21
199199 with the Roberto Clemente Foundation, Roberto 22
200200 Clemente’s living family members, and the Commis-23
201201 sion of the Fine Arts; and 24
202202 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
203203 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8
204204 •S 877 IS
205205 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 1
206206 Committee. 2
207207 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 3
208208 (a) Q
209209 UALITY OFCOINS.—Coins minted under this 4
210210 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 5
211211 (b) P
212212 ERIOD FORISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 6
213213 issue coins under this Act only during the 1-year period 7
214214 beginning on January 1, 2027. 8
215215 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 9
216216 (a) S
217217 ALEPRICE.—The coins issued under this Act 10
218218 shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum 11
219219 of— 12
220220 (1) the face value of the coins; 13
221221 (2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with 14
222222 respect to such coins; and 15
223223 (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 16
224224 (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 17
225225 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 18
226226 (b) B
227227 ULKSALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 19
228228 sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable 20
229229 discount. 21
230230 (c) P
231231 REPAIDORDERS.— 22
232232 (1) I
233233 N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 23
234234 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 24
235235 before the issuance of such coins. 25
236236 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
237237 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9
238238 •S 877 IS
239239 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre-1
240240 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea-2
241241 sonable discount. 3
242242 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 4
243243 (a) I
244244 NGENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 5
245245 Act shall include— 6
246246 (1) a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 7
247247 coins; 8
248248 (2) a surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 9
249249 coins; and 10
250250 (3) a surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dol-11
251251 lar coins. 12
252252 (b) D
253253 ISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of 13
254254 title 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by 14
255255 the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act 15
256256 shall be paid to the Roberto Clemente Foundation to be 16
257257 used for general expenses associated with the fulfillment 17
258258 of the mission of the Roberto Clemente Foundation, in-18
259259 cluding for costs associated with educational, youth sports, 19
260260 and disaster relief historic preservation. 20
261261 (c) A
262262 UDITS.—The Roberto Clemente Foundation, 21
263263 shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 22
264264 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard 23
265265 to the amounts received under subsection (b). 24
266266 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
267267 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10
268268 •S 877 IS
269269 (d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 1
270270 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 2
271271 under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as 3
272272 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 4
273273 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro-5
274274 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 6
275275 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 7
276276 section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in 8
277277 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec-9
278278 retary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 10
279279 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 11
280280 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec-12
281281 essary to ensure that— 13
282282 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 14
283283 will not result in any net cost to the United States 15
284284 Government; and 16
285285 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 17
286286 shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec-18
287287 tion 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing 19
288288 all of the coins authorized by this Act (including 20
289289 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex-21
290290 penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the 22
291291 United States Treasury, consistent with sections 23
292292 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
293293 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11
294294 •S 877 IS
295295 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 1
296296 Code. 2
297297 Æ
298298 VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:06 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S877.IS S877
299299 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB