Mother's Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2421) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of Mother's Day, as amended.

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.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, on Sunday, we will be celebrating Mother's Day. On May 9, 2014, we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the declaration by President Wilson of having Mother's Day celebrated on the second Sunday in May.

I speak in strong support of the bill on which Mrs. Capito also worked and drafted and for which she fought so hard to have a commemorative coin made for that day in honor of Mother's Day.

As you know, Anna Jarvis, who is considered to be the founder of the modern Mother's Day, was born in Webster, West Virginia, on May 1, 1864. She loved her mother so much that, when her mother passed, the Governor of West Virginia and others came around and said, What a great idea it is to celebrate mothers.

I don't know of a person in this House or in this Nation who does not appreciate the value of their mothers and the greatness that Mother's Day represents as it brings us together to celebrate mothers.

What a brilliant idea 100 years ago by the President, in following the lead of West Virginia, to determine that we are going to have this day of celebration for mothers. What better thing for us to do than to have a commemorative coin established, which would also raise money for two very important organizations.

One half of the profits, which would be received from the surcharge of $10 per coin, would benefit women's causes, including the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This would further research funded by the organization. The other half of the profits would go to the National Osteoporosis Foundation for the purpose of further research funded by that foundation.

So, Madam Speaker, I stand here today in strong support of the passage

of the commemorative coin to celebrate the 100th anniversary, the centennial, of Mother's Day as declared by President Wilson.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Let me again thank the gentlewoman from West Virginia for her hard work on bringing this bill.

I think there's no more appropriate thing to do than to celebrate mothers, as we will this Sunday, and celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mother's Day, as we will in 2014, as well as raising money for those causes that will help women.

Let me likewise just say that I would not be standing here today in the well of the House of Representatives if it wasn't for many lessons that were taught to me by my mother. And though she is no longer with us, there is not a day that goes by that she is not in my thoughts and in my heart and I don't hear her.

In closing, I must say on a personal note that I must give a special thanks to my wife and what she does on a daily basis mothering our children.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC, April 29, 2010.

Hon. Barney Frank,

Chairman, Financial Services Committee, Rayburn House Office

Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Frank: I am writing regarding H.R. 2421, the

Mother's Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act.

As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains

jurisdiction over bills that raise revenue. H.R. 2421

contains a provision that establishes a surcharge for the

sale of commemorative coins that are minted under the bill,

and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on

Ways and Means.

However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding

commemorative coin bills and in order to expedite this bill

for Floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action.

This is being done with the understanding that it does not in

any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the

appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives

on this bill or similar legislation in the future.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 2421, and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the record.

Sincerely,

Sander M. Levin,

Chairman.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to thank the gentleman from New York, not only for his support of this bill but also for his eloquent statement in support, not just of the coin but of mothers in general. I want to thank him for yielding time to me.

Madam Speaker, as he said, this Sunday, families across the Nation will gather to honor their mothers and grandmothers. By the way, I am a new grandmother. I had to put that in. They will show their gratitude for the contributions these women have made not only to their immediate families but also to their communities at large. The tradition of honoring our mothers on the second Sunday in May goes back almost a century. It is a very interesting and quite simple history.

The tradition of Mother's Day began in the mountains of Appalachia, when a woman named Anna Jarvis sought a more formal way to honor her mother. Her mother's name was Anna Reeves Jarvis, who had passed away in 1905. Ms. Jarvis, a native of Webster County in the wilds of West Virginia, began working with the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church of Grafton, West Virginia, to honor her mother and her mother's contributions to the community.

In 1908, the church officially proclaimed the third anniversary of Anna Reeves Jarvis' passing to be Mother's Day, but Anna Jarvis was not to be deterred. She continued her efforts to honor mothers across the State of West Virginia. In 1910, she was successful in lobbying and in encouraging the Governor of West Virginia to issue the first Mother's Day proclamation, encouraging all West Virginians to attend church and to wear white carnations in honor of their mothers.

Ms. Jarvis built upon her success at home and began a nationwide effort to have Federal recognition of Mother's Day. After 4 years of hard work and dedication, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation in 1914 encouraging all Americans to fly the American flag at their homes on the second Sunday of May as a public expression of the love and reverence for mothers of our Nation.

West Virginians, we are very proud of our heritage and of the role that our State played in the creation and founding of Mother's Day.

Last year I introduced this underlying legislation, which calls for the minting of a commemorative coin in 2014 to honor the centennial of proclaiming and designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. This coin will be minted in 2014, and as the gentleman from New York expressed, the proceeds of the sales of the coin will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and also to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. I wanted to pick foundations that I knew were dedicated to women's health so that the money will be used for research and development to help the mothers of the future cope with the tragic consequences of osteoporosis or cancer.

As an aside, I would like to wish my mother, Shelley Riley Moore, a very happy and wonderful Mother's Day this Sunday. She has been a very special person in my life and in the life of my entire family. And while that's a personal aside, I know we all feel the same way about our mothers, and taking the time to tell them. I would encourage everyone to do that.

I would like to thank the 291 Members of the House who have joined me in this effort allowing the bill to be considered today. I would encourage the passage of this bill, and again I would encourage the recognition of the place that the mothers of America and really across the world play in the lives of all of us here today.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to show my strong support for H.R. 2421, ``Mothers Day Centennial Coin Act''. First and foremost I would like to thank my distinguished colleague from West Virginia, Representative Shelley Moore Capito for introducing this bill. The coins minted as a result of this legislation will be in recognition and celebration of mothers and everything they do for us and signify the 100th

anniversary of President Woodrow Wilson's proclamation in designating the second Sunday in May as National Mother's Day.

The Mother's Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, if enacted, would donate half of all surcharges which are received by the Secretary from the sale of coins to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure for the purpose of furthering research funded by the organization and the other half to National Osteoporosis Foundation for the purpose of furthering research funded by the Foundation.

It is of imminent importance that we recognize our mothers have made immeasurable contributions toward building strong families, thriving communities, and ultimately a strong nation. The services rendered to the children of the United States by their mothers have strengthened and inspired the nation throughout its history.

We honor ourselves and mothers in the United States when we revere and emphasize the importance of the role of the home and family as the true foundation of the Nation.

Today, thousands of mothers in this country have become active and effective participants in public life and public service, promoting change and improving the quality of life for men, women, and children throughout the Nation.

Mothers continue to rise to the challenge of raising their families with love, understanding, and compassion, while overcoming the challenges of modern society; mothers throughout our country juggle between work, family and the household, all with a smile on their faces.

I want to congratulate and praise all of the mothers in America for all of their hard work. Mothers have a huge influence on our everyday lives; we owe all of our success to them. As the famous American author Washington Irving put it best, ``A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.'' We can never thank our mothers enough for all the sacrifices they have made for us. I wish all families a very happy Mother's Day this Sunday.