119-s2229

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2229 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2229

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a coin in recognition 
 of the Foreign Service of the United States and its contribution to 
 United States diplomacy.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 9, 2025

Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
 Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a coin in recognition 
 of the Foreign Service of the United States and its contribution to 
 United States diplomacy.

 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 ``United States Foreign Service 
Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) The diplomacy and foreign relations of the United 
 States began in 1775 when the Second Continental Congress 
 established the Committee of Secret Correspondence, and it was 
 during the American Revolution that the first ambassadors, 
 envoys, and secretaries, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, 
 and John Adams among them, helped secure the independence of 
 the new nation, recognition by foreign nations, loans to 
 finance the revolution, and negotiate treaties.

    (2) On September 15, 1789, the 1st United States Congress 
 passed an Act creating the Department of State and appointing 
 duties to it, including the keeping of the Great Seal of the 
 United States. Initially there were 2 services devoted to 
 diplomatic and to consular activity. The Diplomatic Service 
 provided ambassadors and staff for embassies overseas, while 
 the Consular Service provided consuls to assist United States 
 sailors and promote international trade and commerce.

    (3) After World War I ended, Congress complemented the 
 earlier efforts for Civil Service reform, interrupted by World 
 War I, to create a career, professional diplomatic service. 
 Representative John Jacob Rogers of Massachusetts introduced 
 his first Foreign Service reform bill in 1919, followed by 
 several others. He was strongly supported in his efforts by 
 Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes. The legislation 
 provided improvements in the Diplomatic and Consular Services 
 to attract highly qualified candidates ``by keen competition''. 
 The objective was to create ``a real diplomatic career, open to 
 any American citizen who has the necessary qualifications''.

    (4) The Act entitled ``An Act for the reorganization and 
 improvement of the Foreign Service of the United States, and 
 for other purposes'', approved May 24, 1924 (43 Stat. 140, 
 chapter 182) (commonly known as the ``Rogers Act of 1924''), 
 unified the Diplomatic and Consular Services in one career 
 organization based on competitive examination and merit 
 promotion. It was named the ``Foreign Service of the United 
 States of America''. President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill 
 into law on May 24, 1924. The first class of new Foreign 
 Service officers was held in 1925.

    (5) The Foreign Service of the United States is the primary 
 United States Federal Government professional cadre of 
 generalists and specialists charged with the conduct of United 
 States diplomacy under the aegis of the United States 
 Department of State. It consists of a cadre of career 
 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United 
 States and aiding United States citizens abroad.

    (6) In 1946, after World War II, Congress passed the 
 Foreign Service Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 999, chapter 957) to 
 update the 1924 Rogers Act.

    (7) In 1980, the Congress again updated the Rogers Act, 
 passing the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3901 et 
 seq.), to promote the foreign policy of the United States by 
 strengthening and improving the Foreign Service of the United 
 States.

    (8) Since its inception, the Foreign Service of the United 
 States has included members of United States departments and 
 agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, the Department 
 of Commerce, the United States Agency for International 
 Development, and the United States Information Agency. 
 Embassies and consulates house and support personnel of the 
 Department of Homeland Security (Immigration and Customs 
 Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection), the Federal 
 Aviation Administration, the American Battle Monuments 
 Commission, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Drug 
 Enforcement Administration along with the attaches of the 
 Department of Defense and the Armed Forces.

    (9) Since the creation of the Foreign Service of the United 
 States, generations of Foreign Service members and families 
 have represented the United States around the world, in peace 
 and war. Over 320 names are inscribed in the memorial plaques 
 erected by the American Foreign Service Association and located 
 in the lobby of the Harry S. Truman Building, the headquarters 
 of the Department of State, to honor ``diplomatic and consular 
 officers of the United States who while on active duty lost 
 their lives under heroic or tragic circumstances''.

    (10) Since its establishment in 1775, 250 years ago, the 
 United States Marine Corps has supported United States 
 diplomacy by protecting United States embassies. For decades 
 Marines were dispatched from ships, fleets, and squadrons when 
 it was necessary to protect embassies and consulates in times 
 of crisis, and since 1949, Marine Security Guard detachments at 
 embassies have protected personnel, property, and classified 
 information.

    (11) The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training is 
 dedicated to capturing, preserving, and sharing the experiences 
 of United States diplomats. The Association has created, 
 managed, and maintained a Foreign Affairs Oral History program 
 consisting of more than 2,600 first-person oral histories of 
 United States diplomats to capture and share the legacy and 
 contributions of modern United States diplomacy. The 
 Association is a nongovernmental, member-based, nonprofit 
 501
            (c) (3) organization housed on the campus of the George P. 
 Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center and dependent 
 on funds from members, donations, contracts, and grants to 
 sustain its work.

    (12) In 2024, the Foreign Service of the United States 
 celebrated the 100th anniversary of its creation.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--In celebration of diplomacy and the Foreign 
Service of the United States, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following coins:

    (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. DESIGNS OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--

    (1) In general.--The designs of the coins minted under this 
 Act shall be emblematic of the importance of diplomacy to the 
 national interest of the United States and of the creation of 
 the Foreign Service of the United States and its contributions 
 to modern diplomacy in the United States.

    (2) Designations 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 ``2029''; and
            (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
 We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
 Pluribus Unum''.

    (b) Selection.--The designs for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--

    (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the 
 Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training and 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 may 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, 
2029.

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 coins;

    (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coins; and

    (3) $5 for the half dollar coins.

    (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 Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training to support the 
collection, curation, and sharing of diplomatic history in the United 
States via oral history, books, social media, and other means.
            (c) Audits.--The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training 
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, are 
 disbursed to the 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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