119-s877

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 877 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 877

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in 
 recognition of the life and legacy of Roberto Clemente.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 6, 2025

 Mr. Schumer (for himself and Mrs. Capito) 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 commemorative coins in 
 recognition of the life and legacy of Roberto Clemente.

 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 ``Roberto Clemente Commemorative Coin 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 The Congress finds the following:

    (1) Roberto Clemente Walker was born on August 18, 1934, to 
 Don Melchor Clemente and Luisa Walker in Barrio San Anton, 
 Carolina, Puerto Rico, as the youngest of 7 children.

    (2) Clemente excelled in athletics as a youngster and, at 
 the age of 17, was playing for the Santurce Cangrejeros 
 ``Crabbers'' of the Puerto Rican Baseball League.

    (3) In 1954, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Clemente in 
 the first round of the Major League Baseball Rule 5 draft.

    (4) Pirates center fielder Earl Smith wore jersey number 21 
 until he parted ways with the team in April 1955, and Clemente 
 wore number 13 until then.

    (5) In 1955, Clemente made his Major League debut as he 
 went on to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, starting as a right 
 fielder.

    (6) When the team traveled to Richmond, Virginia, for games 
 or Florida for spring training, Clemente encountered Jim Crow 
 laws for the first time when the Black players had to stay at a 
 separate, inferior hotel and were refused the option to dine 
 with their White counterparts.

    (7) Clemente was known for being a proud Afro-Latino and 
 protested the discrimination that Latin and Black ball players 
 encountered.

    (8) Clemente was known for defending the rights of Black 
 and Brown people, both on the field and in the streets.

    (9) After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in 
 1968, Clemente and his teammates refused to play until after 
 the funerals and even wrote a public statement showing their 
 respect for Dr. King.

    (10) Clemente became a union leader in the incipient Major 
 League Baseball Players Association and defended players' 
 rights to demand better working conditions and benefits.

    (11) In every city where the Pirates played, Clemente 
 visited sick children in hospitals.

    (12) Clemente established training clinics, providing 
 baseball lessons and fun for boys and girls in Pittsburgh, his 
 home island of Puerto Rico, and throughout Latin America.

    (13) In 1958, Clemente enlisted in the United States Marine 
 Corps Reserve after the 1958 season and spent 6 months on 
 active duty at Parris Island, South Carolina, and Camp LeJeune, 
 North Carolina.

    (14) Clemente served until 1964 and was inducted into the 
 Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

    (15) By the end of his career, Clemente had joined the 
 exclusive 3,000-hit club, was selected to 15 All-Star teams, 
 and won 12 Gold Gloves, 2 World Series, and a National League 
 MVP award.

    (16) In Clemente's 18 seasons with Pittsburgh he won 4 
 batting titles, hit 240 home runs, and posted a lifetime .317 
 batting average.

    (17) In late 1972, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake ravaged 
 Managua, Nicaragua, and killed 5,000 people.

    (18) In his philanthropic spirit, Clemente sent shipments 
 of humanitarian aid to the country.

    (19) After learning that 3 previous shipments had been 
 diverted by corrupt Somoza Government officials, Clemente 
 decided to accompany one of the aid shipments.

    (20) The four-engine DC-7 plane Clemente chartered for a 
 flight on New Year's Eve crashed in the Atlantic Ocean 
 immediately after takeoff from the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto 
 Rico.

    (21) On December 31, 1972, Clemente died in the plane crash 
 at the age of 38 years young.

    (22) Since 1973, Major League Baseball gives out the 
 Roberto Clemente Award to one player in the league who ``best 
 exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community 
 involvement and the individual's contribution to his team''.

    (23) In 2002, Major League Baseball declared the first 
 annual Roberto Clemente Day.

    (24) In 2021, Major League Baseball announced September 15 
 would be the permanent date of Roberto Clemente Day to coincide 
 with the beginning of Hispanic Heritage month.

    (25) Clemente was the first Latino player to accomplish 
 many feats in Major League Baseball.

    (26) Clemente was the first Puerto Rican, and first person 
 of Latino heritage, to win a World Series as a starter, be 
 named league MVP, be named World Series MVP, and be elected to 
 the Hall of Fame.

    (27) Clemente was posthumously elected to the National 
 Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, being the first National League 
 baseball player to receive the mandatory 5-year waiting period 
 waiver.

    (28) Clemente was a legend in life and death, a baseball 
 star, a humanitarian activist, and a symbol of Latin American 
 pride.

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:

    (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. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--

    (1) In general.--The designs of the coins minted under this 
 Act shall be emblematic of the life of Roberto Clemente, 
 including his human rights activism and baseball stardom 
 legacy. At least 1 obverse design shall bear the image of 
 Roberto Clemente.

    (2) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin minted 
 under this Act, there shall be--
        (A) an inscription of Roberto Clemente;
        (B) a designation of the value of the coin;
            (C) an inscription of the year ``2027''; and
            (D) 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 
 Roberto Clemente Foundation, Roberto Clemente's living family 
 members, and the Commission of the 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) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins under this 
Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 2027.

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--

    (1) a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coins;

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

    (3) a surcharge of $5 per coin 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 paid to the Roberto Clemente 
Foundation to be used for general expenses associated with the 
fulfillment of the mission of the Roberto Clemente Foundation, 
including for costs associated with educational, youth sports, and 
disaster relief historic preservation.
            (c) Audits.--The Roberto Clemente Foundation, 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, 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.
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