Women’s History and Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Quarter Dollar Coin Program Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2427 To amend title 31, United States Code, to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue quarter dollars in commemoration of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 1, 2019 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mrs. FISCHER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To amend title 31, United States Code, to require the Sec- retary of the Treasury to mint and issue quarter dollars in commemoration of the 19th Amendment to the Con- stitution of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s History and 4 Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Quarter Dollar Coin 5 Program Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2427 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The tireless and passionate efforts of the 3 suffragists, their supporters, and other stakeholders 4 contributed to the movement to grant and protect 5 the right of all women to vote. 6 (2) On August 26, 1920, after a long campaign 7 by suffragists across the country, the Constitution of 8 the United States was amended by means of the 9 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to 10 vote. 11 (3) On June 24, 1924, all Native Americans 12 were granted citizenship and, by extension, the right 13 to vote. 14 (4) In 1948, the legal victories of Native Amer- 15 ican veterans granted protections for the right of all 16 Native men and women to vote. 17 (5) On June 27, 1952, the Immigration and 18 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) was enacted, 19 which granted citizenship to all individuals of Asian 20 descent and, by extension, the right to vote. 21 (6) Enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 22 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) on August 6, 1965, 23 granted Black women protections to overcome the 24 legal barriers that prevented many from exercising 25 their right to vote even though all Blacks had been 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2427 IS granted citizenship in 1868 with ratification of the 1 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 2 States. 3 (7) On August 6, 1975, the amendments to the 4 reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 re- 5 moved language barriers to mitigate discrimination 6 against Hispanic, Asian, and Native American vot- 7 ers. 8 (8) Women’s history and the movement for 9 women’s rights that the suffragists began extends 10 beyond ratification of the 19th Amendment to the 11 Constitution of the United States. 12 (9) August 26, 2020, marks the centennial of 13 the day that women were granted the right to vote 14 in the United States. 15 SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING THE NINE- 16 TEENTH AMENDMENT. 17 (a) AMENDMENT TO NATIONAL SITES QUARTER 18 DOLLAR PROGRAM.—Section 5112(t) of title 31, United 19 States Code, is amended— 20 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘Notwith- 21 standing the fourth sentence of subsection (d)(1) 22 and subsection (d)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to 23 paragraph (8), and notwithstanding the fourth sen- 24 tence of subsection (d)(1) and subsection (d)(2)’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2427 IS (2) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(7) PERIOD OF ISSUANCE.—Subject to para- 3 graph (2), the program established under this sub- 4 section shall continue in effect until the earlier of— 5 ‘‘(A) the date on which a national site in 6 each State has been honored; or 7 ‘‘(B) March 31, 2021.’’; and 8 (3) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the 9 following: 10 ‘‘(8) DESIGNS STARTING ON JANUARY 1, 2021.— 11 ‘‘(A) TRANSITION PERIOD.—The design of 12 the quarter dollar during the period beginning 13 on January 1, 2021, and ending on December 14 31, 2021, shall be as follows: 15 ‘‘(i) On January 1, 2021, the design 16 shall be the final design of the national 17 sites program established by this sub- 18 section. 19 ‘‘(ii) On a date selected by the Sec- 20 retary that is not earlier than January 15, 21 2021, and not later than December 31, 22 2021, the design shall be the first design 23 selected pursuant to the program estab- 24 lished under subsection (x). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2427 IS ‘‘(B) DESIGN AFTER END OF PROGRAM.— 1 Beginning on August 1, 2021, the design of the 2 quarter dollar shall be in accordance with sub- 3 section (x).’’. 4 (b) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING THE 5 NINETEENTH AMENDMENT.—Section 5112 of title 31, 6 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 7 following: 8 ‘‘(x) REDESIGN AND ISSUANCE OF QUARTER DOL- 9 LARS COMMEMORATING THE RATIFICATION OF THE 10 NINETEENTH AMENDMENT.— 11 ‘‘(1) REDESIGN BEGINNING IN 2021.—Notwith- 12 standing the fourth sentence of subsection (d)(1) 13 and subsection (d)(2), quarter dollars issued during 14 the period beginning on the date selected under sub- 15 section (t)(8)(A)(ii) and ending on the date de- 16 scribed in paragraph (8) shall have designs on the 17 reverse selected in accordance with this subsection. 18 ‘‘(2) NINETEENTH AMENDMENT QUARTER DOL- 19 LAR DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 20 ‘‘(A) FLEXIBILITY WITH REGARD TO 21 PLACEMENT OF INSCRIPTIONS.—Notwith- 22 standing subsection (d)(1), the Secretary may 23 select a design for quarter dollars described in 24 paragraph (1) in which— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2427 IS ‘‘(i) the inscription described in the 1 second sentence of subsection (d)(1) ap- 2 pears on the reverse side of each such 3 quarter dollar; and 4 ‘‘(ii) any inscription described in the 5 third sentence of subsection (d)(1) or the 6 designation of the value of the coin ap- 7 pears on the obverse side of each such 8 quarter dollar. 9 ‘‘(B) SINGLE PROMINENT AMERICAN 10 WOMAN.—Notwithstanding subsection (d)(1), 11 the design on the reverse of each coin issued 12 under this subsection shall— 13 ‘‘(i) be emblematic of the accomplish- 14 ments and contributions of a prominent 15 woman who was a resident of a State, the 16 District of Columbia, or a territory; 17 ‘‘(ii) bear the name of the prominent 18 woman selected under clause (i) and the 19 State, District of Columbia, or territory; 20 and 21 ‘‘(iii) bear other appropriate inscrip- 22 tions. 23 ‘‘(3) ISSUANCE OF COINS DURING EACH 24 YEAR.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2427 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The designs for the 1 quarter dollar coins issued during each year of 2 the period described in paragraph (1) shall be 3 emblematic of a maximum of 5 States, the Dis- 4 trict of Columbia, or territories. 5 ‘‘(B) ORDER OF ISSUANCE.—The quarter 6 dollar coins issued during each year of the pe- 7 riod described in paragraph (1) shall be issued 8 in alphabetical order of the area represented, 9 starting with Alabama. 10 ‘‘(C) NUMBER OF EACH OF COIN DESIGNS 11 IN EACH YEAR.—The Secretary shall prescribe 12 the number of quarter dollars that shall be 13 issued with each of the designs selected for each 14 year. 15 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF DESIGN.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each of the designs 17 required under this subsection for quarter dol- 18 lar coins shall— 19 ‘‘(i) be determined by the Secretary 20 after— 21 ‘‘(I) submission of a rec- 22 ommendation from the chief executive 23 of the applicable State, the District of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2427 IS Columbia, or territory being com- 1 memorated; and 2 ‘‘(II) consultation with the Com- 3 mission of Fine Arts; 4 ‘‘(ii) be reviewed by the Citizens Coin- 5 age Advisory Committee; and 6 ‘‘(iii) honor or commemorate a woman 7 who has made significant contributions to 8 the lives of individuals of the applicable 9 State, the District of Columbia, or terri- 10 tory. 11 ‘‘(B) SELECTION AND APPROVAL PROC- 12 ESS.—Designs for quarter dollars may be sub- 13 mitted in accordance with the design selection 14 and approval process developed by the Sec- 15 retary. 16 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary shall 17 include in design development, to the greatest 18 extent practicable, input by— 19 ‘‘(i) the chief executive of the applica- 20 ble State, District of Columbia, or terri- 21 tory; 22 ‘‘(ii) artists from the States, the Dis- 23 trict of Columbia, and territories; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2427 IS ‘‘(iii) engravers of the United States 1 Mint; 2 ‘‘(iv) members of the general public 3 from groups or organizations that are pur- 4 suing a mission focused on increasing the 5 inclusion of women or improving the qual- 6 ity of life for women; and 7 ‘‘(v) women’s groups and organiza- 8 tions within the applicable State, the Dis- 9 trict of Columbia, or territory being com- 10 memorated that are pursuing a mission fo- 11 cused on increasing the inclusion of women 12 or improving the quality of life for women. 13 ‘‘(D) STANDARDS.—Because it is impor- 14 tant that the coinage and currency of the 15 United States bear dignified designs of which 16 the citizens of the United States can be proud, 17 the Secretary may not select any frivolous or in- 18 appropriate design for any coin minted under 19 this subsection. 20 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN REP- 21 RESENTATIONS.—The design of any quarter 22 dollar under this subsection may not include— 23 ‘‘(i) a head and shoulders portrait or 24 bust of any person, living or dead; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2427 IS ‘‘(ii) a portrait of a living person; or 1 ‘‘(iii) a depiction of an individual in a 2 size such that the coin could be considered 3 to be a ‘2-headed’ coin. 4 ‘‘(F) RELEASE OF DESIGNS.—Not later 5 than August 31, 2020, the Secretary shall iden- 6 tify the first 5 women to be honored under this 7 subsection. 8 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT AS NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For 9 purposes of sections 5134 and 5136, all coins mint- 10 ed under this subsection shall be considered to be 11 numismatic items. 12 ‘‘(6) ISSUANCE.— 13 ‘‘(A) QUALITY OF COINS.—The Secretary 14 may mint and issue such number of quarter 15 dollars of each design selected under paragraph 16 (4) in uncirculated and proof qualities as the 17 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 18 ‘‘(B) SILVER COINS.—Notwithstanding 19 subsection (b), the Secretary may mint and 20 issue such number of quarter dollars of each 21 design selected under paragraph (4) as the Sec- 22 retary determines to be appropriate, with a con- 23 tent of not less than 90 percent silver. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2427 IS ‘‘(7) APPLICATION IN EVENT OF THE ADMIS- 1 SION OF ADDITIONAL STATE.—If any additional 2 State is admitted into the Union before the termi- 3 nation date described in paragraph (8), the Sec- 4 retary may issue quarter dollar coins, in accordance 5 with this subsection, with a design that is emblem- 6 atic of such State during any 1 year of the period 7 described in paragraph (1), in addition to the quar- 8 ter dollar coins issued during that year in accord- 9 ance with paragraph (3)(A). 10 ‘‘(8) TERMINATION DATE.—The authority to 11 issue quarter dollar coins under this subsection shall 12 terminate on December 31 of the year in which the 13 final State or territory has been commemorated with 14 a design pursuant to paragraph (3). 15 ‘‘(9) DESIGNS AFTER END OF PROGRAM.—On 16 the first day of the year following the year of the 17 date described in paragraph (8)— 18 ‘‘(A) the design on the obverse of the quar- 19 ter dollar shall revert to the same design con- 20 taining an image of President Washington in 21 effect for the quarter dollar before the institu- 22 tion of the 50-State quarter dollar program; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2427 IS ‘‘(B) notwithstanding the fourth sentence 1 of subsection (d)(1), the design on the reverse 2 of the quarter dollar shall contain an image of 3 General Washington crossing the Delaware 4 River prior to the Battle of Trenton. 5 ‘‘(10) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 6 ‘‘(A) RESIDENT.—The term ‘resident’, 7 with respect to a State, the District of Colum- 8 bia, or a territory, means that a woman resided 9 in that State, the District of Columbia, or that 10 territory for a period of not less than 1 con- 11 secutive year. 12 ‘‘(B) TERRITORY.—The term ‘territory’ 13 means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 14 Guam, American Samoa, the United States Vir- 15 gin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 16 Northern Mariana Islands. 17 ‘‘(y) SILVER BULLION INVESTMENT PRODUCT.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall strike 19 and make available for sale such number of bullion 20 coins as the Secretary determines to be appropriate 21 that are exact duplicates of the quarter dollars 22 issued under subsection (x), each of which shall— 23 ‘‘(A) have a diameter of 3.0 inches and 24 weigh 5.0 ounces; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2427.IS S2427 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2427 IS ‘‘(B) contain .999 fine silver; 1 ‘‘(C) have incused into the edge the 2 fineness and weight of the bullion coin; 3 ‘‘(D) bear an inscription of the denomina- 4 tion of such coin, which shall be ‘quarter dol- 5 lar’; and 6 ‘‘(E) not be minted or issued by the 7 United States Mint as so-called ‘fractional’ bul- 8 lion coins or in any size other than the size de- 9 scribed in subparagraph (A). 10 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY FOR SALE.—Bullion coins 11 minted under paragraph (1)— [Text truncated for display. 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