AN ACT 1ST SESSION H. R. 2423 - Congress.gov

116TH CONGRESS
   1ST SESSION
                    H. R. 2423

                     AN ACT
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins
   in commemoration of ratification of the 19th Amendment
   to the Constitution of the United States, giving women
   in the United States the right to vote.

 1      Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

2
1    SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2        This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s Suffrage
3 Centennial Commemorative Coin Act’’.
4    SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

5        (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
6             (1) Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott
7        organized the first Women’s Rights Convention in
8        Seneca Falls, New York. 68 women and 32 men
9        signed the Declaration of Sentiments at the Conven-
10       tion in July 1848.
11            (2) The Declaration of Sentiments was modeled
12       after the Declaration of Independence and declared
13       that ‘‘all men and women are created equal’’, linking
14       women’s rights directly to the founding ideals of the
15       United States.
16            (3) Suffrage activists, including Elizabeth Cady
17       Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, So-
18       journer Truth, Ida B. Wells, Jovita Idar, Inez
19       Millholland, Mary Church Terrell, Anne Dallas Dud-
20       ley, Carrie Chapman Cat, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns,
21       Esther Hobart Morris, and many others, conducted
22       over 900 local, State, and Federal campaigns over a
23       72-year time span to win women the right to vote.
24            (4) On November 6, 1917, New York granted
25       women the right to vote, which was an act that cre-
26       ated momentum for the national movement that cul-
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 1      minated in the ratification of the 19th Amendment
 2      to the Constitution of the United States 3 years
 3      later.
 4           (5) The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of
 5      the United States (‘‘The Susan B. Anthony Amend-
 6      ment’’) guarantees all United States women the
 7      right to vote and was passed by the 66th Congress
 8      of the United States on June 4, 1919.
 9           (6) On August 9, 1920, right before the ratifi-
10      cation period was set to expire, Governor Albert H.
11      Roberts called a special session of the Tennessee
12      General Assembly to consider the amendment. Pro-
13      suffrage and anti-suffrage activists from around the
14      country descended on Nashville, Tennessee, intent
15      on influencing the legislature.
16           (7) After the amendment was defeated in a 48–
17      48 tie vote, Tennessee State Representative Harry
18      T. Burn from McMinn County cast the deciding fa-
19      vorable vote after receiving a note from his mother,
20      Phoebe Ensminger Burn, imploring him to vote yes
21      for ratification.
22           (8) On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the
23      36th and final State needed to pass the 19th
24      Amendment, ensuring its ratification pursuant to
25      Article V of the Constitution of the United States.

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 1            (9) The 19th Amendment was ratified on Au-
 2       gust 26, 1920, when Secretary of State Bainbridge
 3       Colby issued a proclamation announcing it has be-
 4       come part of the Constitution of the United States.
 5            (10) The ratification of the 19th Amendment
 6       marked the single largest extension of voting rights
 7       in United States history, enfranchising 27,000,000
 8       American women in the United States.
 9       (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is—
10            (1) to honor and commemorate the work of
11       women suffrage activists in the late 19th and early
12       20th centuries;
13            (2) to increase public awareness and apprecia-
14       tion for the history of the women’s suffrage move-
15       ment; and
16            (3) to encourage all women in the United
17       States to exercise their hard-won franchise and to
18       become involved in civic life if they so choose.
19   SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

20       (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas-
21 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’)
22 shall mint and issue not more than 400,000 $1 coins,
23 which shall—
24            (1) weigh 26.73 grams;
25            (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and

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 1             (3) contain at least 90 percent silver.
 2        (b) LEGAL TENDER.—The coins minted under this
 3 Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of
 4 title 31, United States Code.
 5        (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections
 6 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins
 7 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis-
 8 matic items.
 9   SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COIN.

10        (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—
11             (1) IN    GENERAL.—The       design of the coins
12        minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the
13        women who played a vital role in rallying support for
14        the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the
15        United States.
16             (2) DESIGNATIONS       AND    INSCRIPTIONS.—On

17        each coin minted under this Act, there shall be—
18                   (A) a designation of the value of the coin;
19                   (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2020’’; and
20                   (C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’,
21             ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer-
22             ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum.’’
23        (b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted
24 under this Act shall—

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 1            (1) contain motifs that honor Susan B. An-
 2       thony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Carrie Chapman
 3       Catt, Harriet Tubman, Mary Church Terrell, Alice
 4       Paul, Lide Meriwether, Ida B. Wells, and other suf-
 5       frage activists of the late 19th century and early
 6       20th centuries;
 7            (2) be selected by the Secretary, after consulta-
 8       tion with the Smithsonian Institution’s American
 9       Women’s History Initiative, and the Commission of
10       Fine Arts; and
11            (3) be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advi-
12       sory Committee.
13   SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

14       (a) QUALITY   OF    COINS.—Coins minted under this
15 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.
16       (b) MINT FACILITIES.—Only one facility of the
17 United States Mint may be used to strike any particular
18 quality of the coins minted under this Act.
19       (c) PERIOD    FOR   ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may
20 issue coins under this Act only during the period begin-
21 ning on January 1, 2020, and ending on December 31,
22 2020.

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 1   SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

 2        (a) SALE PRICE.—The coins issued under this Act
 3 shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum
 4 of—
 5             (1) the face value of the coins;
 6             (2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with
 7        respect to such coins; and
 8             (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins
 9        (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery,
10        overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).
11        (b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk
12 sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable
13 discount.
14        (c) PREPAID ORDERS.—
15             (1) IN   GENERAL.—The     Secretary shall accept
16        prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act
17        before the issuance of such coins.
18             (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre-
19        paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea-
20        sonable discount.
21   SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

22        (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this
23 Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1
24 coin described under section 3(a).
25        (b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of
26 title 31, United States Code, and section 8(2), all sur-
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 1 charges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins
 2 issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Sec-
 3 retary to the Smithsonian Institution’s American Women’s
 4 History Initiative for the purpose of—
 5            (1) collecting, studying, and establishing pro-
 6       grams relating to women’s contributions to various
 7       fields and throughout different periods of history
 8       that have influenced the direction of the United
 9       States; and
10            (2) creating exhibitions and programs that rec-
11       ognize diverse perspectives on women’s history and
12       contributions.
13       (c) AUDITS.—The Smithsonian Institution’s Amer-
14 ican Women’s History Initiative shall be subject to the
15 audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31,
16 United States Code, with regard to the amounts received
17 under subsection (b).
18   SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.

19       The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec-
20 essary to ensure that—
21            (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act
22       will not result in any net cost to the United States
23       Government; and
24            (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges,
25       shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec-

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 1       tion 7(b) until the total cost of designing and issuing
 2       all of the coins authorized by this Act (including
 3       labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex-
 4       penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the
 5       United States Treasury, consistent with sections
 6       5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States
 7       Code.
 8   SEC. 9. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

 9       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
10 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010,
11 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement
12 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this
13 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record
14 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
15 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the
16 vote on passage.
         Passed the House of Representatives October 28,
     2019.
         Attest:

                                                       Clerk.

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116TH CONGRESS
   1ST SESSION    H. R. 2423
               AN ACT
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint
  coins in commemoration of ratification of the
  19th Amendment to the Constitution of the
  United States, giving women in the United
  States the right to vote.