Hero Street USA Commemorative Coin Act

H.R. 2525 · 114th Congress · May 21, 2015 · Lineage

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition and celebration of Hero Street USA.

Section 1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the “Hero Street USA Commemorative Coin Act”.

Sec. 2 Findings

Congress finds the following:

(1)

In 1968, 2nd Street of Silvis, Illinois, was renamed Hero Street, a tribute to the sacrifice and patriotism of its residents.

(2)

Many Mexican families immigrated to Silvis during the 1920s and 1930s, seeking work with the local railroad line, and settled on 2nd Street, where low-cost housing was available to railroad workers and their families.

(3)

When the United States entered World War II, the young men of 2nd Street answered the Nation’s call to serve. Of this first generation of 2nd Street residents, six were killed in World War II and two in the Korean Conflict.

(4)

Despite tragedy, a strong tradition of military service persisted within this small, historically Latino community as the younger generations enlisted or were drafted.

(5)

Today, over 100 men and women from Hero Street have served in the Armed Forces of the United States, a concentration higher than any other street comparable in size.

(6)

The legacy of these brave soldiers has transformed this small street into a point of national pride, and a park and monument have been built in Silvis to honor the 8 deceased service members as well as all who have served in the United States Military.

(7)

2018 will mark the 50th anniversary of Hero Street’s renaming.

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 coins in commemoration of the semi centennial of the naming of Hero Street:

(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 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.

(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 at least 90 percent silver with the remainder copper.

(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 section 5134 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)

In general— The design of the coin minted under this Act shall be emblematic of Hero Street USA.

(b)

Designation and inscription— On each coin minted under this Act, there shall be—

(1)

a designation of the value of the coin;

(2)

an inscription of the year “2018”; and

(3)

inscriptions of the words “Liberty”, “In God We Trust”, “United States of America”, and “E Pluribus Unum”.

(c)

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

(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 1 facility of the United States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality of coin under this Act.

(c)

Period for issuance— The Secretary may issue coins under this Act only during the period beginning on January 1, 2018, and ending on December 31, 2018.

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 coin;

(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 the 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 paid to the Wounded Warrior Project to carry out the organization’s mission of honoring and empowering our Nation’s wounded warriors.

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 Federal 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.

Lineage

May 21, 2015viewing Introduced in House Mrs. Bustos (for herself, Ms. Linda T. Sánchez of California, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Aguilar, Mr. Gallego, Ms. Frankel of Florida, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Becerra, Ms. Velázquez, Mr. Sires, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. Swalwell of California, Mr. Vela, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Cárdenas, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Mr. Gutiérrez, Mr. Ruiz, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Costa, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Brownley of California, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Pierluisi, Mr. Curbelo of Florida, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Ms. Herrera Beutler, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Gabbard, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Walz, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mr. Yoder, Mrs. Roby, Mr. Ashford, Ms. Edwards, Ms. Adams, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Nolan, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Brooks of Alabama, Mr. Kilmer, Mrs. Torres, Miss Rice of New York, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Bost, and Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services