District of Columbia and United States Territories Circulating Quarter Dollar Program Act

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for yielding and for his early work on this bill, and I certainly thank the gentleman from Delaware, who has worked on this matter with me, which now this makes the fifth time. Indeed, this is the fifth time, and I am grateful that the House has been willing to come back time and again, that we will pass a bill to afford the five insular areas and the District of Columbia a quarter 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 successive committee and subcommittee Chairs and ranking members of the Financial Services Committee. We especially appreciate the new chairman,

Barney Frank, who reached out to us to put this bill for consideration by the House on the early suspension calendar.

Forty States have had their State designs on the reverse side of the quarter with four more States to be added before this year is ended. 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 States have appropriate latitude, there are limitations as to what can be used as a design. According to the law, the Secretary of Treasury has the final approval of each design. The law gives clear guidance as to what is an acceptable design concept. Suitable design concepts include State landmarks, historically significant buildings, symbols of State resources or industries, official State flora and fauna, State icons, and outlines of States. Among the examples of suitable coins are many, New York's Statue of Liberty and the like.

This bill points out the importance of including all Americans in the symbols of American citizenship. The residents of the District and of the insular areas are full and equal American citizens. To leave them out of mere exercises of citizenship is to seem 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, particularly in the Armed Forces, in considerably larger numbers than many States. District citizens, in addition, pay Federal income taxes.

We in the Congress all represent proud Americans. There are, of course, significant differences between the States and the jurisdictions covered by this bill. However, qualification to be 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, never the intention when the five jurisdictions were not included in the original bill in 1998, as the House has made clear by repeatedly bringing this bill to the floor. Perhaps the other body this time is ready to grant us our citizenship.

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 repeatedly passing this measure, the House has made it abundantly clear that we are one country, and that our hope is that the Senate will join us.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from the U.S. Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from American Samoa.

(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo).

Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

Madam Speaker, I cannot close without saying a word about the spirit in which the gentleman from Delaware has handled this matter. What is it, we are told 8 years. It was a quintessential moment of bipartisanship.

I was sitting in my office when the bill came to the floor, and staff came in and said the District of Columbia and the territories are not included in this coin bill. I ran to the floor and ran over to the gentleman. It is understandable, it is called 50 States, that it is easy to forget us I guess, and he assured us there had been no intention.

Madam Speaker, I had two choices. One choice was on suspension, as it is today, which was simply to ask my side to vote against it and it wouldn't have passed on suspension. The other side was to listen to what the chairman said, and what he said was that he would put this bill again on the floor. He, and for that matter his successor committee chairs and subcommittee chairs, has never wavered on putting this bill forward. Let us be clear that when we are talking about five times, we are talking about, shall we call them, the other body.

I point this out because I believe we owe the same reciprocal spirit of bipartisanship that, sir, you so kindly granted us. The fact is, this is such a small matter. That such a small matter can be so hurtful may not be understandable to others.

One way to understand it is the disproportionate service in the Armed Forces. I don't know why, but you have only to look at the statistics to be stunned by the disproportionate service in our Armed Forces of people from the District of Columbia and the insular areas. It is not because they during the period of the draft were more often drafted; it was a greater willingness to serve.

I want to say, Madam Speaker, in closing that a virtual unwritten rule of this House should be that no distinction not proscribed by laws ever be made among American citizens, particularly in the people's House. We will all be challenged, I hope shortly, on an entirely unrelated bill, not the bill that the gentleman from Delaware spoke of that is due to come to the floor on delegate voting, but yet another bill, a bill 200 years in the making, 200 painful years of service in the Armed Forces, of paying taxes without representation which are going to call Congress to account, especially my party, which has flooded this floor with statements of belief in the full voting rights of the people of the Nation's Capital.

To his great credit, Representative Tom Davis when he chaired the Government Reform Committee discovered a magic opportunity, that is the only word for it because it won't come again soon, that the State of Utah had barely missed getting a vote in the last census. And he came to me and suggested that we put Utah and the District of Columbia together just as Alaska and Hawaii came in the Union together, and precisely the only way we have increased representation in the House and the Senate, and that is through political balance.

It was an offer we couldn't refuse, but it took us 4 years of my negotiating with the Democrats who kept telling me what they wanted and Mr. Davis negotiating with Republicans who kept telling them what they wanted, and finally we got the bill through the Government Reform Committee 15-14. This is such an extraordinary bipartisan vote on a controversial bill, 15 Democrats, 14 Republicans voting for the bill, the Davis-Norton bill for a House vote. Not a vote in both Houses, my friends, a vote in the people's House, went to the Judiciary Committee, additional requirements made, they were fulfilled by the State of Utah.

Here, we have the most Republican State in the Union and a big city normally Democratic who come forward together, who are literally joined at the hip together, and say regrettably, although we thank the other side who took this almost to the floor, through two committees, didn't get it to the floor, my party has an obligation written in miles of rhetoric, written in their platform over many decades to bring the bill for the full vote for the residents of the District of Columbia to this floor.

I congratulate my colleagues on the other side who almost brought us home. Now, the challenge is to those who got up and pointed their finger at the other side about not doing enough, the finger is now pointed at us and the time has come. While this bill has nothing to do with that, if you represent the District of Columbia, if you were second per capita in Federal income taxes, if you had gone to Arlington during this war, if you had sat in churches during this war, then you would understand that any opportunity to remind this Congress, including my side, that the moment of truth has come and it has got to come in the 110th Congress for a seat for the District of Columbia this year. Meanwhile, we begin with an entirely noncontroversial ``yes'' symbolic bill. Let this bill pass the House.

I thank the Speaker, and I particularly thank my good colleagues for persevering with us. I hope we have set the tone for the 110th Congress.

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

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

I also rise in support of H.R. 392, the District of Columbia and United States Territories Circulating Quarter Dollar Program Act. I want to thank Chairman Frank, Chairman Gutierrez, and Ranking Member Bachus for the Financial Services Committee's support of this legislation and for getting this important bill to the floor early in the 110th Congress. This is a little bit unusual that we are doing early, perhaps early enough to get it done in the Senate as well.

The legislation before us would extend the popular 50 State Quarter project to include coins honoring 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.

Madam Speaker, the 50 State Quarter legislation has proven to be a great success. It has reinvigorated coin collecting, has become an invaluable educational tool, and has so far contributed close to $6 billion to the United States Treasury through seiniorage and the sale of products to collectors. With an estimated 140 million Americans collecting these coins, the State quarters have become the most popular coin program in the United States' Mint history.

Madam Speaker, expanding the program to include D.C. and the U.S. territories will further benefit the taxpayer and educate Americans about our Commonwealth. These coins are integral to the history of our country and educate children and tourists about the American way of life. This bipartisan legislation is supported by the members of the Financial Services Committee and has passed the House in every Congress since the 106th Congress. I am pleased that we have brought this much- needed legislation to the floor today and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting the bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, at this time I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Fortuno).

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, just in closing I thought I would reference back to what I said in the opening, and that is that this particular program which is known as the 50 State Quarter Program, has made a profit, if you want to call it that, through what we call seigniorage of about $6 billion for the Federal Government. How can that be? It is fairly simple: it costs about a nickel to make a quarter, and we essentially sell the quarters, if you will, for 25 cents; and that amount of money, that extra money is carried over, that 20 cents. And since none of these coins are being basically turned in because of all the collecting which is going on, this is money which the Federal Government can spend, it is called seigniorage, and it has worked out extraordinarily well.

This program not only honors and recognizes these very important entities that have been spoken to by their representatives here today, but also provides an opportunity for the Federal Government to continue to profit from this program, which will, by the end, end otherwise in the year 2008. So I would encourage everybody to vote for it.

I hope, to the distinguished woman from the District of Columbia, that the fifth time is good luck. We have had great luck here in the House; it is in the Senate that we seem to struggle a little bit, and hopefully we can get it done this time.

And let me make a point that I think is important. There has been a lot in the news lately about a delegate voting bill which some people here on the floor may be interested in. This is not that bill, and I am not either denigrating or advocating that bill today. But I think it is very important to understand what this is: it is just a clear recognition of those areas that have been left out of this quarter program that many of us think should be brought in and, for that reason, are very supportive of this legislation. Hopefully this is a bill which both political parties can be very supportive of when the time comes to vote on it.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 392, which requires the 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.

Madam Speaker, you will recall that in 1999, the United States Mint began circulating quarters in commemoration of each of the 50 States. The coin honoring my great State of Texas was issued in 2004. The coin, featuring the Lone Star of Texas, is the 28th in the series and commemorates Texas' admission to the Union as the 28th State on December 29, 1845.

To date, Mr. Speaker, 40 of the 50 State coins have been circulated. I look forward to seeing the last 10 States honored with their own special quarter-dollar coin.

Unfortunately, the beautiful city in which we stand today, our Nation's capital, has been thus far denied the opportunity to commemorate its vital importance as a part of our union, with a quarter-dollar coin of its own. Likewise, the United States territories have not had the opportunity to commemorate their important role in our nation. H.R. 392 would change this regrettable state of affairs.

I thank the delegate from the District of Columbia, Ms. Norton, for introducing this legislation and urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it. I am, however, saddened that she herself cannot cast a vote in favor of this bill since she is not yet permitted a vote on the floor of the House or in the Committee of the Whole. I am optimistic that the new Democratic majority in this House will grant elected delegates the right to vote in the Committee of the Whole at the earliest possible opportunity. I remain a strong supporter of H.R. 328, the District of Columbia Fair and Equal Voting Rights Act of 2007, which will give the representative for the District of Columbia a full, fair, and equal vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.

As a supporter of freedom, democracy, and equality, I believe that it is long overdue for the citizens of the District of Columbia to have a representative in Congress who can vote on the vital legislation considered in this august body. It is wrong, Madam Speaker, that the citizens of the District of Columbia, who after all pay taxes to the United States, serve in the Armed Forces, and are subject to the laws and jurisdiction of the United States, are denied a vote in the body that imposes those taxes, raises and maintains the Armed Forces, and makes the laws that each of us must obey. Similarly, we cannot deny the territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands the right to have a vote in Congress. Doing so denies the important relationships of these territories to our Nation and diminishes the contributions of their people to our country.

In light of this unfortunate situation, I commend the delegate from our Nation's Capital for introducing H.R. 392, to show the people of the United States capital and territories that we do indeed honor them. I urge my colleagues to pay tribute to them by voting in favor of this legislation to establish a quarter dollar coin program in their commemoration.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 392, the District of Columbia and the United States Territories Circulating Quarter Dollar Program Act.

This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury 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.

The Commemorative Coin Program Act was passed, Madam Speaker, in 1997, and enacted as Public Law 105-124. It authorized the minting of 50 commemorative coin designs to represent the unique culture and history of each respective State. This is an unprecedented program by which the design of the United States quarter dollar changes five times each year for a 10-year period beginning in January 1999. The 50 States are honored under the current program in the order in which they were admitted into the Union. This program authorized the first change to the quarter since production of the bicentennial quarter in 1975-1976 and is meant to foster pride among citizens of each State, greater appreciation for the diversity of our Nation, and to instill an enhanced sense of national unity. By all accounts, Madam Speaker, this program has been a resounding success. However, it has excluded the territories.

H.R. 392 represents the fifth consecutive attempt, the fifth consecutive attempt to enact legislation to honor the Capital City, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. territories by including them in the 50 State Quarter Program.

I want to thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), who has persevered over all these years to try to get this piece of legislation through, and I also thank the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) for his continued strong support for the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories to be included in this successful program.

I represent Guam, an island approximately 3,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. Guam, like the District of Columbia and the other U.S. territories, has unique attributes that too few Americans are aware of. In fact, it is all too common for Americans to be unaware of or misinformed about Guam's relationship with the United States and that its residents are duly U.S. citizens. I believe this record should be improved, and one way to accomplish this is to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the 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 Marianas.

The bottom line is that every time someone looks at the back of a quarter, they learn something about the State represented. Much can be learned about Guam and her sister territories and the District. In doing so, the curious American will learn more about their wonderful country in which they live and more about their fellow Americans with whom they share this bountiful land.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 392) to provide for a circulating quarter dollar 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.

Madam 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.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I urge the House pass H.R. 392, a bipartisan bill introduced by the distinguished gentlelady from Washington, D.C., Ms. Holmes Norton.

This legislation simply extends the very popular quarter coin bill to honor the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

We believe that extending the program will generate the same cultural pride in the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories that is done in every State across the Nation. When it comes to American history and tradition, Washington, D.C., is second to none, and that is why I am pleased that the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia has introduced this bill.

Citizens of other territories have made similar contributions and sacrifices. They, too, deserve the highest possible recognition and equality. That is why, in my opinion, extending the quarter program to include the U.S. territories is the least we can do to recognize the role that these great peoples and their cultures played in enriching American history.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), who is an effective and tireless advocate for the people of Washington, D.C., and the author of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the delegate from Washington, D.C. (Ms. Norton) and ask unanimous consent that she be permitted to control that time.