[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2404 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2404
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of Cesar Chavez's work for the betterment of legal workers, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 8, 2021
Mr. Gosar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of Cesar Chavez's work for the betterment of legal workers, and for
other purposes.
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 ``Cesar Chavez Commemorative Coin
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Cesar Chavez was born on March 31, 1927, in Yuma,
Arizona.
(2) In 1962, Chavez founded the National Farm Workers
Association, which later became the United Farm Workers, to
improve the wages and working conditions for American
farmworkers.
(3) Chavez's union drew on the imagery of civil rights to
use nonviolence and mass mobilization to improve the conditions
of persecuted and impoverished American workers.
(4) Chavez believed that preventing illegal immigration was
an essential prerequisite to improving the circumstances of
American farmworkers.
(5) In 1969, Chavez led a march to the Mexican border to
protest illegal immigration, joined by Senator Walter Mondale
and Martin Luther King's successor as head of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference, Ralph Abernathy.
(6) Chavez noted that it is ``almost impossible to start
some effective program to get these people their jobs back from
the braceros'' once employers replace them.
(7) In the 1970s, Chavez combined a campaign of identifying
and reporting illegal workers with a campaign to boycott
nonunionized farms in order to protect the labor of the
unionized American worker.
(8) Chavez recognized that flooding the labor market with
people from abroad undermines the unionized American worker.
(9) In 1979, at the National Press Club, Chavez
emphatically supported enforcement of immigration laws, stating
that ``people are being hurt and being destroyed, and with the
complicity and with the help, of the Federal Government''.
(10) President Clinton recognized Chavez's work saying,
``We can be proud of his enormous accomplishments and in the
dignity and comfort he brought to the lives of so many of our
country's least powerful and most dispossessed workers.''.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the
following coin:
(1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 8.359 grams;
(B) have 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) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90 percent silver.
(3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 750,000 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 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.
SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.
(a) Design Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The designs of the coins minted under this
Act shall be emblematic of Cesar Chavez and his fight to defend
the interests of American farmworkers, his birth in Yuma,
Arizona, and his commitment to and work for American
agricultural workers. At least one coin design shall include
the name and likeliness of Cesar Chavez.
(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 ``2024''; 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
Commission of Fine Arts and the Smithsonian Institution; 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) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1,
2024.
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, 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 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) 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 Smithsonian Institution to support the development, maintenance,
and repair of the National Museum of the American Latino, and for
educational and commemorative programs of American Latino heritage and
culture.
(c) Audits.--The Smithsonian Institution 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 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, shall be
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, 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.
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