To exempt certain animal identification information from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2993) to provide for a circulating quarter dollar coin program to honor the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation, and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 2993, the District of Columbia and United States Territories Circulating Quarter Dollar Program Act, introduced on February 10 by the gentleman from New York (Mr. King).

Similar to the popular 50-State Quarter program I am proud to have authored, the legislation would create a 1-year program to use designs reminiscent of the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the reverse of our circulating quarters in the year following the end of the State quarter program in 2008. Passage of this legislation would foster respect for and enhance historical knowledge of the District of Columbia and the territories that are an indispensable part of the United States and also would be an economic windfall for the United States Treasury.

Mr. Speaker, the State quarter program, which reached the halfway mark at the end of December of this past year, has dramatically increased general knowledge of the historical contributions of our 50 States. I believe the legislation under consideration today would do the same for the District and the territories. These areas have some of the highest enlistment rates in our Armed Forces. Their commitment continues through today's conflicts, through the tragic sacrifice of the lives of, among others, Lance Corporal Gregory E. MacDonald of the District of Columbia, and Army Private Jonathan I. Falaniko of Pago Pago, American Samoa.

As well, Mr. Speaker, the District and the territories have many historical, cultural, and athletic contributions to our Nation; and the bill we consider today would allow a great opportunity to recognize them in artwork on the reverse of the quarters.

The 1-year program provides more than intangible benefits to the United States. It provides an economic boon to our Nation's Treasury. The success of the State quarter program has been overwhelming. The quarters have become one of the most popular collector's items in the United States and abroad; and by the halfway point of the program, the government had already benefited by over $4 billion, representing coins that have been taken out of circulation by collectors. As a result, it is estimated that if the popularity of quarters produced under this legislation follows similar trends, as much as $1 billion worth of the quarters may be taken out of circulation.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) for introducing the bill, and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) for her tireless campaign towards its passage. I also commend many others who have urged passage in the past, including the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus), who sponsored a previous version of the legislation, and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters). Of course, I would also like to thank the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) and the chairman and ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley), and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for their assistance in making this legislation possible.

I urge swift passage of H.R. 2993 to recognize the invaluable contributions of the District and territories.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to start by thanking the gentlewoman from District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) for her tenaciousness on this. I always favored this concept as soon as I heard about it. But if it was not for her, frankly, pushing everybody, I do not think we would be where we are today. And I say that because we have been there a couple of times before, and she has had to do it again and again.

I doubt if there will be a Rose Garden ceremony for the signing of this if it passes, but I intend to come over there and shake your hand if it happens, because you deserve a lot of credit for it. We just have to get the Senate to cooperate.

Apropos of comments made earlier by the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) on another bill, this is a pretty good day here on the floor, at least this portion of it, as far as the Federal Government is concerned. The BEP hopefully will be able to enter into the business that they can do specifically that the private sector really cannot do as well and perhaps have a chance to add some revenues to the Federal Government as has indicated. This quarter program has already produced $4 billion in money to the Treasury as a result of the keeping of these coins and collecting.

The chances are that the young people here are all collecting them. When you go to a classroom, you find that they are all collecting these coins.

We still have 5 years to run, hopefully a 6th year to run on this. We hope it will produce, as I indicated earlier, another billion dollars. It is not many programs that actually produce real money, real revenue for the Federal Government.

Pursuant to that, without advocating anything, I would say as an extension of this that I have introduced legislation, as you may know, for a Presidential program on the dollar coins, which is also, according to the studies that have been done, has the ability to produce revenue for the Federal Government as a collector's item, with the spouses to be on a gold coin sold at the price of gold which would be about $380 right now as a collector's item.

All of these also have the ability to do what this coin has been done and, most importantly, inform not just young people but all of us about our States, as the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) has pointed out, and about our territories, and about our Presidents hopefully.

So I think this has all been a very win-win-win situation. We are very appreciative of what this has done. I would encourage all of us to support this legislation, and hopefully this is something that we will get done this year.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I will be very brief. I just want to thank the representatives from the various territories and from the District of Columbia for actual historical lessons here on the floor. I think it behooves all of us, I recall those comments of the gentleman from Nebraska next to me, that perhaps putting the territories and District of Columbia on the quarter is more important than the States in some ways as this is such a good educational tool for our young people. So, hopefully, we will get that done this year.

Based on all I have heard, I think the problem is in the Senate, not the House. So we all need to go to work over in the Senate and get this done.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I am grateful to the gentleman from Massachusetts for his strong support and advocacy of this bill. May I offer my thanks as well to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), who has been with this bill since 1998 and was, from the moment that the territories and the District were not included, helpful throughout and insistent that we be included. Of course, the exclusion of the territories and the District was entirely inadvertent; and he comes once again full circle, because he was chairman at that time.

Indeed, twice before, the House has passed a bill to afford the five insular areas and the District of Columbia a quarter coin bearing a design of their choice on the reverse side. Inadvertently, these Americans were excluded from the 50-State bill affording this same right to the States in 1998. We owe very special thanks to three successive committee chairs and ranking members of the Committee on Financial Services. It is one thing to ask a committee to come to the floor once with a bill; it is a burden to come three times, even on suspension. I would like to thank the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), who has chaired the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology during the 105th Congress, and worked with me and introduced legislation to allow the District and the insular areas to participate in this program.

In the 106th Congress, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus), as chair of the same subcommittee, introduced this bill and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), as ranking member of the subcommittee, cosponsored the legislation.

Today, I would especially thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. King), who is chair of the subcommittee during the 107th and 108th Congress who introduced the bill and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), the ranking member, who sponsored the bill the last two sessions.

May I also give special thanks to the chair of the full committee, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for their support. I want to particularly thank the majority leader, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), with whom I recently spoke concerning the bill and who kindly agreed to move it to suspension.

To date, there have been over 21 billion State quarter coins minted; 26 States have had their State design on the reverse side of the quarter with four more States to be added before the end of this year. Five are added each year. All the coins are minted according to the year each State ratified the Constitution of the United States or were admitted into the Union.

Although the States have appropriate latitude, there are limitations as to what can be used as a design. According to Public Law 105-124, the Secretary of the Treasury has the final approval of each design. The law gives clear guidance as to what is an acceptable design concept. Such suitable design concepts include State landmarks, landscapes, historically significant buildings, symbols of State resources or industries, official State flora and fauna, State icons and outlines of the States themselves. State flags and seals are not considered suitable.

Among the examples of suitable coins already in circulation are New York's Statue of Liberty, Missouri's depiction of Lewis and Clark as they paddle down the Missouri River with the Gateway Arch in the background, and North Carolina's design depicting the first successful airplane flight.

We look forward to the day when the residents of the District of Columbia

and the insular areas can see similar symbols of their jurisdictions and of their American citizenship appear, as well.

This bill points up the importance of including all Americans in the symbols of American citizenship. The residents of the District and the insular areas are full and equal American citizens. To leave them out of mere expressions of citizenship is to deny the citizenship they revere and share with other Americans. The Americans who live in these areas have fought and died in our country's wars and have extraordinary records of service in the Armed Forces in considerably larger numbers than other States. The District of Columbia alone has lost more service members in Afghanistan and Iraq than many States and lost more in Vietnam than 10 separate States.

We in the Congress are proud to represent all Americans.

There are, of course, significant differences between the States and the jurisdictions covered by this bill. However, qualification to be a part of a program of quarter coins to commemorate congressional districts is not one of them. Under the Constitution, all Americans are equal notwithstanding important differences in form, structure and other significant distinctions. Today, by including all Americans, Congress avoids any appearance of differential or discriminatory treatment and any implication that these areas are colonies as, of course, was never the intention when the five jurisdictions were not included in the original bill as the House has made clear by repeatedly bringing this bill to the floor.

Today, when our country is at war and faces unparalleled dangers, this bill is yet another example of our unity as Americans and our indivisibility in honoring all of our country's citizens. By passing this measure, the House will make it abundantly clear that we are one country and that our hope is that the Senate will join us.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I would not be standing here if it had not been for the able leadership and certainly the sensitivity and the commitment from the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) for all these years that we have worked tirelessly in providing for this legislation that we now come to this most historic occasion in presenting this proposed legislation before our colleagues and hopefully in my desire that we pass it.

Mr. Speaker, this is not a Republican or a Democratic issue. This is an American issue. We are talking about the lives of some 5 million of our fellow Americans who live in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and the insular areas.

I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) for his sponsorship of this legislation and our colleague, also from New York (Mrs. Maloney), for her support as the ranking member of the subcommittee. And certainly I would be remiss if I did not thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for his support.

It saddens me, Mr. Speaker, for all these years that we have tried earnestly to provide passage of this legislation, that there is still some misunderstanding or misinformation among some of our colleagues to the point it saddens me that even some may have this idea that we are not worthy enough, we are not worthy enough as those of us fellow Americans coming from the District of Columbia, from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, where some 3.8 million Americans, U.S. citizens, live, that we do not deserve the privilege of circulating just a quarter dollar in honor of the contributions that we have also made for all these years to the greatness of our Nation.

I am reminded of a fellow Chamorro who is a retired Marine brigadier general, a former Member and colleague of ours, Mr. Ben Blaz, and he made this statement I have never forgotten over the years. He said to his colleagues here in this Chamber, we are equal in times of war, but we are not equal in times of peace.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation would amend the popular 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act to include six new designs emblematic of the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. Designs on the reverse side of each quarter dollar issued during 2009 will be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the chief executive officers of these areas.

All five congressional delegates are and were original cosponsors of this bipartisan measure. This measure was first introduced in the 106th Congress and passed overwhelmingly in the House by a vote of 377 to 6. Unfortunately, the 106th Congress ended before the Senate was able to consider our bill.

Again, in the 107th Congress, we introduced H.R. 4005, identical legislation which also passed the House and was received in the Senate in October of 2002. Once again, the Senate was unable to consider this matter before the 107th Congress adjourned. Now we have introduced H.R. 2993; and we are hopeful, Mr. Speaker, that the House and Senate will pass this legislation before the 108th Congress adjourns.

At this time, I also want to thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) for her leadership, and I also want to thank our delegates who have worked tirelessly to ensure that this legislation is considered.

Speaking on behalf of my own district in American Samoa, I believe it is only fitting for Congress to acknowledge our relationship with the United States, which has now been in place for other 104 years. Many fellow Americans have never heard of American Samoa. American Samoa has had a long and proud history of supporting the United States. The traditional leaders of the islands of Tutuila and Aunu'u ceded our islands to the United States in 1900. Four years later, the King of Manu'a and his chiefs ceded the Manu'a Islands.

In the early part of the century, the harbor of Pago Pago, which was much sought after, was used as a coaling station for U.S. naval ships; and during World War II, these islands became a staging area for some 30,000 soldiers and Marines before they were sent to Tarawa and Guadalcanal and other parts of the Pacific during World War II. To this day, American Samoa serves as a refueling point for U.S. naval ships and military aircraft.

American Samoa also has a per capita enlistment rate in the U.S. military which is as high as any State or territory. I have had to personally carry two of my soldiers who recently died from Iraq in that terrible conflict. Our sons and daughters have served in record numbers in every U.S. military engagement since World War II to the present operations in Iraq. We have stood by the United States in good times and bad times, and I believe this relationship should be acknowledged with the issuance of a commemorative coin.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2993 affords us an opportunity to recognize the special contributions of the insular areas. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) and the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) for managing this bill today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2993, a bill that will authorize the United States Mint to circulate quarter dollar coins depicting an important design representative of the District of Columbia and each respective United States territory.

Guam has long sought to be represented on the back of the quarter dollar coin in the same manner as the States do. And I guess I will say, Mr. Speaker, that perseverance does pay off eventually. It has been many years, and I thank the gentlewoman from District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), as well as the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from New York (Mr. King), and the ranking member, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), for their leadership in guiding this legislation to the floor today.

This legislation was championed by the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle). The Commemorative Coin Act was passed in 1997 authorizing the minting of 50 commemorative coin designs representing the unique culture and history of each respective State. The intention was to foster pride amongst citizens of each State, greater appreciation for the diversity of our Nation, and instill a sense of national unity. While this program has been a true success, I am pleased that we now come together to ensure that the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are equally recognized.

H.R. 2993 will help educate the public that the territories are recognized as being part of the United States, in addition to guaranteeing that our Nation's own capital city is honored. Many people are confused as to the relationship of Guam and the territories to the United States of America. By authorizing United States currency representative of the territories, we can educate our country and the world about the vast reach of our Nation and foster a better understanding about its culture and ethnic diversity.

Guam has a rich and patriotic history, and I support any effort that generates more interest in learning about our islands. Guam is an island approximately 3,500 miles southwest of Hawaii and is the southernmost island of the Marianas chain. With a population of 160,000, the island of Guam is home to two of the Nation's most important and strategic military bases, the Navy's COMNAVMAR base and Andersen Air Force Base. Natives of Guam, or Chamorros, are proud of their unique cultural heritage.

Guam has always been a true melting pot since it was first traversed by Europeans upon the arrival of Magellan in the early 16th century. After serving for centuries as a major stop-off point along the Spanish galleon trade route, Guam was ceded to the United States in 1898 after the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War. Since that time, Guam has served as an important gateway to the Pacific and an important center for commerce and cultural exchange between the United States and Asia.

During World War II, Guam was occupied by Japanese imperial forces from 1941 to 1944. However, citizens of Guam proudly and defiantly affirmed their patriotism to the United States.

When American forces arrived in 1944 in its push to win the war in the Pacific, patriots of Guam boarded small boats and paddled out to Navy warships volunteering to join forces to defeat the Japanese. Our island was liberated by the United States Marines and soldiers on July 21, 1944; and soon after, Congress granted United States citizenship to the people of Guam.

It is important to the people on Guam to gain greater recognition as being part of the United States of America. Guamanians have fought valiantly in every American conflict since being incorporated into the United States. Guam had the highest per capita number of deaths in the Vietnam conflict. Guamanians are proud and patriotic, and H.R. 2993 honors their contribution to American valor and culture.

So I do, Mr. Speaker, encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 2993.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 2993, the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Circulating Quarter Dollar Program Act.

It is a pleasure for me to be here as we again move closer toward rectifying the omission of the District of Columbia and the insular areas from the original 50 State Commemorative Coin Program Act. It has been more than 3 years; but with the vote today on H.R. 2993, my constituents as well as those of my colleagues from the Nation's capital and the other territories will finally get the opportunity to have our Nation commemorate and celebrate a significant event or fact about our respective homes.

My district, the U.S. Virgin Islands, also known as America's Paradise, has many ecological, historical and cultural treasures which are worthy of commemoration. We also boast of having been the place where the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, grew up and honed the skills which served our fledgling nation so well.

For the benefit of those who might not know this, the Virgin Islands have been a member of the American family since 1917 when Denmark sold the islands of the former Danish West Indies, St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, to the United States for just $25 million.

We are located 1,000 miles southeast of Miami in the Caribbean Sea and are four main islands with numerous keys, with beaches that have consistently ranked among the best in the world. We also boast the only site where the members of Christopher Columbus' party are known to have set foot on what is today the U.S. The Salt River National Historical and Ecological Park was established in 1992 to, among other things, commemorate this important historical event.

Mr. Speaker, the people of the Virgin Islands see it as only fitting that we, along with the residents and citizens of Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia should also have the opportunity to educate our fellow Americans on whose side we have fought to defend and protect our Nation in every conflict from the Revolutionary War to the present day about our unique qualities, as well as promote our pride at being Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), the champion of the original bill, and our ranking member, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), for including the District of Columbia and our territories, and I particularly want to also extend our gratitude to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia because it was her leadership and dogged determination that made this day possible, and I ask my colleagues to support her in our effort and vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2993.