Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act

116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1235 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 † S 1235 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s Suffrage 2 Centennial Commemorative Coin Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott 6 organized the first Women’s Rights Convention in 7 Seneca Falls, New York. Sixty-eight women and 32 8 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments at the 9 Convention in July 1848. 10 (2) The Declaration of Sentiments was modeled 11 after the Declaration of Independence and declared 12 that ‘‘all men and women are created equal’’, linking 13 women’s rights directly to the founding ideals of the 14 United States. 15 (3) Suffrage activists, including Elizabeth Cady 16 Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, So- 17 journer Truth, Ida B. Wells, Jovita Idar, Inez 18 Millholland, Mary Church Terrell, Anne Dallas Dud- 19 ley, Carrie Chapman Cat, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, 20 Esther Hobart Morris, and many others, conducted 21 over 900 local, State, and Federal campaigns over a 22 72-year time span to win women the right to vote. 23 (4) On November 6, 1917, New York granted 24 women the right to vote, which was an act that cre- 25 ated momentum for the national movement that cul- 26 3 † S 1235 ES minated in the ratification of the 19th Amendment 1 to the Constitution of the United States 3 years 2 later. 3 (5) The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of 4 the United States (‘‘The Susan B. Anthony Amend- 5 ment’’) guarantees all United States women the 6 right to vote and was passed by the 66th Congress 7 of the United States on June 4, 1919. 8 (6) On August 9, 1920, right before the ratifi- 9 cation period was set to expire, Governor Albert H. 10 Roberts called a special session of the Tennessee 11 General Assembly to consider the amendment. Pro- 12 suffrage and anti-suffrage activists from around the 13 country descended on Nashville, Tennessee, intent 14 on influencing the legislature. 15 (7) After the amendment was defeated in a 48– 16 48 tie vote, Tennessee State Representative Harry 17 T. Burn from McMinn County cast the deciding fa- 18 vorable vote after receiving a note from his mother, 19 Phoebe Ensminger Burn, imploring him to vote yes 20 for ratification. 21 (8) On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 22 36th and final State needed to pass the 19th 23 Amendment, ensuring its ratification pursuant to 24 Article V of the Constitution of the United States. 25 4 † S 1235 ES (9) The 19th Amendment was ratified on Au- 1 gust 26, 1920, when Secretary of State Bainbridge 2 Colby issued a proclamation announcing it has be- 3 come part of the Constitution of the United States. 4 (10) The ratification of the 19th Amendment 5 marked the single largest extension of voting rights 6 in United States history, enfranchising 27,000,000 7 American women in the United States. 8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is— 9 (1) to honor and commemorate the work of 10 women suffrage activists in the late 19th and early 11 20th centuries; 12 (2) to increase public awareness and apprecia- 13 tion for the history of the women’s suffrage move- 14 ment; and 15 (3) to encourage all women in the United 16 States to exercise their hard-won franchise and to 17 become involved in civic life if they so choose. 18 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 19 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas- 20 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 21 shall mint and issue not more than 400,000 $1 coins, 22 which shall— 23 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 24 (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 25 5 † S 1235 ES (3) contain at least 90 percent silver. 1 (b) LEGAL TENDER.—The coins minted under this 2 Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of 3 title 31, United States Code. 4 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 5 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 6 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis- 7 matic items. 8 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COIN. 9 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The design of the coins 11 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 12 women who played a vital role in rallying support for 13 the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the 14 United States. 15 (2) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 16 each coin minted under this Act, there shall be— 17 (A) a designation of the value of the coin; 18 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2020’’; and 19 (C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 20 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer- 21 ica’’, ‘‘E Pluribus Unum.’’ 22 (b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 23 under this Act shall— 24 6 † S 1235 ES (1) contain motifs that honor Susan B. An- 1 thony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Carrie Chapman 2 Catt, Harriet Tubman, Mary Church Terrell, Alice 3 Paul, Lide Meriwether, Ida B. Wells, and other suf- 4 frage activists of the late 19th century and early 5 20th centuries; 6 (2) be selected by the Secretary, after consulta- 7 tion with the Smithsonian Institution’s American 8 Women’s History Initiative, and the Commission of 9 Fine Arts; and 10 (3) be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advi- 11 sory Committee. 12 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 13 (a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this 14 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 15 (b) MINT FACILITIES.—Only 1 facility of the United 16 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 17 of the coins minted under this Act. 18 (c) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 19 issue coins under this Act only during the period begin- 20 ning on January 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 21 2020. 22 7 † S 1235 ES SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 1 (a) SALE PRICE.—The coins issued under this Act 2 shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum 3 of— 4 (1) the face value of the coins; 5 (2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with 6 respect to such coins; and 7 (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 8 (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 9 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 10 (b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 11 sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable 12 discount. 13 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 15 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 16 before the issuance of such coins. 17 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre- 18 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea- 19 sonable discount. 20 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 22 Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 23 (1) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin 24 described under section 3(a)(1). 25 8 † S 1235 ES (b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of 1 title 31, United States Code, and section 8(2), all sur- 2 charges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins 3 issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Sec- 4 retary to the Smithsonian Institution’s American Women’s 5 History Initiative for the purpose of— 6 (1) collecting, studying, and establishing pro- 7 grams relating to women’s contributions to various 8 fields and throughout different periods of history 9 that have influenced the direction of the United 10 States; and 11 (2) creating exhibitions and programs that rec- 12 ognize diverse perspectives on women’s history and 13 contributions. 14 (c) AUDITS.—The Smithsonian Institution’s Amer- 15 ican Women’s History Initiative shall be subject to the 16 audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, 17 United States Code, with regard to the amounts received 18 under subsection (b). 19 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 20 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec- 21 essary to ensure that— 22 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 23 will not result in any net cost to the United States 24 Government; and 25 9 † S 1235 ES (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 1 shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec- 2 tion 7(b) until the total cost of designing and issuing 3 all of the coins authorized by this Act (including 4 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex- 5 penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the 6 United States Treasury, consistent with sections 7 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 8 Code. 9 Passed the Senate June 4, 2019. Attest: Secretary. 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1235 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.