National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2527) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition and celebration of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to add extraneous material on this bill.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, baseball truly is the American sport. From the earliest age, we begin enrolling our children in pee-wee baseball leagues. We take our children to games where we enjoy a day at the ballpark eating hot dogs and Cracker Jacks. That is because baseball is America's national pastime, and that's why I'm proud to ask for consideration of the bill before us.

H.R. 2527 was introduced in July, on the same day as the 50th Congressional Baseball Game, by Mr. Hanna for himself and 296 others, including myself. This bill was also introduced for Mr. Barton and Mr. Doyle, who managed the Republican and Democrat teams in the 50th Congressional Baseball Game.

H.R. 2527 gives special recognition to a place that honors baseball, a game which, since the time of the Civil War, has occupied our leisure hours. The bill calls for the minting and issuing in 2015 of a limited number of gold, silver, and so-called ``clad'' coins commemorating the 75th anniversary of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

The Hall of Fame and Museum opened and admitted the inaugural class of ballplayers in June 1939 as war clouds gathered over the world. In the 72 years since its opening, the Baseball Hall of Fame has served as a home base, detailing the rich history of our national pastime. More than 14 million people have visited the Hall of Fame.

This commemorative coin program, which will be conducted at no cost to the taxpayer, will also operate in accordance with all the statutes covering these types of coin programs at the U.S. Mint. Further, the program has the potential to raise several million dollars to help finance the operation of the Hall of Fame through surcharges on the sales of these coins. Notably, to claim the surcharges, the Hall of Fame must raise matching funds from nongovernment sources.

The bill ensures that all three coins will have common designs. For example, the bill requires that the reverse side--sometimes referred to as the ``back side''--of each coin is to be in the image of a baseball. The bill further requests that the U.S. Mint try to produce the coins in such a way that it makes the reverse side rounded, like a baseball.

The passage of this bill, the commemorative coin bill, is one of those exceptional pieces of legislation that brings the House together in bipartisan fashion. Particularly at this time, a bill that can garner nearly 300 signatures of support from House Members on both sides of the aisle is a good thing.

I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this bill, and I urge all the Members to support this coin act today.

U.S. House of Representatives,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC, October 24, 2011.

Hon. Spencer Bachus,

Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Bachus: I am writing concerning H.R. 2527,

the ``National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin

Act,'' which is scheduled for Floor action on Tuesday,

October 25, 2011.

As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains

jurisdiction over matters that concern raising revenue. H.R.

2527 contains a provision that establishes a surcharge for

the sale of commemorative coins that are minted under the

bill, and this 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 or similar legislation in the future.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 2527, and would ask

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

included in the Congressional Record during Floor

consideration.

Sincerely,

Dave Camp,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hanna).

Mr. Speaker, after last night's game in the World Series, most Americans understand that ``T'' is for Texas.

I yield 3 minutes to the manager of the Republican team, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton).

Mr. Speaker, the competition between the gentleman from Texas and the gentleman from Missouri notwithstanding, the bipartisan-- tentative bipartisan--effort is moving slowly forward.

I would yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gibson).

Mr. Speaker, the original sponsor of the bill, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hanna), would like to go into extra innings. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support of this

bill. I'm happy to support legislation that would designate a commemorative coin for the Baseball Hall of Fame. I want to thank my friend and colleague, Richard Hanna, for introducing this legislation and for working to get strong bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. I also want to thank my good friend, Joe Barton, for his work not only in the congressional baseball game itself but for working with me to help bring legislation to the floor.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is more than just a shrine to the Nation's pastime. The Baseball Hall of Fame is proof of shared American values, that baseball is not merely a part of American history but has tracked the peaks of the American experience. Baseball is a game with roots in both England and the United States, which signifies the dual roots that define the birth of this country.

Major League Baseball players like Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams gave up years in their prime to fight against fascism and for the future of democracy in World War II. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, 7 years before the Supreme Court desegregated schools in Brown v. Board of Education and nearly 20 years before the Civil Rights Act.

And the entire world, even Arizonans, rooted for the Yankees as they played in the World Series just weeks after the country was attacked on September 11.

I'm also a supporter of the bill because baseball is an essential part of the experience of my district, more specifically, the city of Pittsburgh. The Pirates are one of the original Major League Baseball teams founded in 1887 and played in the first ever World Series. As someone who's lived in Pittsburgh my entire life, I have experienced the thrill of victory and more recently the agony of defeat as I've watched my beloved Pirates.

As a young fan, I had the honor of watching my most favorite person ever to wear a baseball uniform, Roberto Clemente, a 12-time All-Star, a 12-time Golden Glove winner, MVP, with an impressive .317 lifetime batting average. He was not only a great baseball player but a great humanitarian. After Roberto singlehandedly helped the Pirates win the World Series in 1971 over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles, Roberto was tragically killed in a plane crash just a few months later bringing relief supplies to victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake in 1972. He will forever be remembered and beloved, not only by his native homeland of Puerto Rico and his adopted home of Pittsburgh, but by baseball fans across the world.

You know, other sports may have more followers or more revenues or more popularity, but no other sport is so tied to the core of American experience as baseball. And now, because of this bill, Americans, as well as international visitors, can be assured that they can visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Commemorative coins celebrate and honor American traditions. As well as commemorating important aspects of American history and culture, these coins help raise money for important causes. This coin will raise funds to ensure that Cooperstown will not only be open to the Nation and the world now, but also for generations and generations beyond us, and will cost the government and the American taxpayer absolutely nothing.

This bill couldn't come at a better time. We're at a point in our history when the defining standards of American life can seem lost; the idea that hard work ensures a decent life, that the future is always better than the past, that what unites us is always stronger than what divides us. There was a time when these notions were not just truths, but reliable truths. They were promises.

We are now at a time when people feel a little less secure about the truth of American greatness. Well, I still believe in American greatness, and I think most Americans still believe in American greatness. And I believe that we need to celebrate that greatness wherever possible. This bill does just that.

The Baseball Hall of Fame has personal importance for me because it reminds me of a time when the country's game was defined by great teams and great players, not large bankrolls and corporate-named stadiums. It's a reminder of when the game was ruled by talent and love of the game. That's why we need the Hall of Fame. That's why I'm proud to support this bill, and that's why I ask all my colleagues to vote for it.

I thank the gentleman from New Mexico for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in proud support of H.R. 2527, the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act.

First, I need to thank several of my colleagues for their help in bringing this bill to the floor: Congressman Joe Barton and Mike Doyle, respectively, the Republican and Democratic managers of the congressional baseball teams and the original cosponsors of this bill; Financial Services Committee Chair Spencer Bachus and Ranking Member Barney Frank for their support on this bill, and each of the 296 cosponsors who together joined to commemorate our national pastime.

I am privileged to represent Cooperstown, a picturesque village in upstate New York and home of the National Hall of Fame. As a 10-year resident of Cooperstown, sponsoring this bill is especially meaningful to me.

I urge all citizens of the world, baseball fans or not, to visit Cooperstown at least once. Cooperstown is a fine example of the beauty and grace of small town America.

Mr. Speaker, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has spent the last seven decades celebrating and honoring the history of our national pastime. This bill will celebrate and honor the 75th anniversary of the Hall of Fame. The U.S. Treasury will produce an official United States Mint commemorative coin featuring the Baseball Hall of Fame. Importantly, there will be no cost to the American taxpayer associated with this bill.

The coins are legal tender but will be produced in a limited quantity. They will become available in 2015 to mark the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Mr. Speaker, the story of baseball is the story of America. Baseball is a game of skill, from the most precise pitchers to the heaviest hitters. In the late 1800s, men of all ethnic backgrounds joined together on the diamond to play the game that would become America's sport. Germans, Poles, and Italians, Irishmen, Jews, Native Americans and more formed teams, a hodgepodge of Americans, immigrants, all of whom found acceptance on the field.

This game broke barriers long before the civil rights movement began. While much of America was segregated in the forties, the great Jackie Robinson in 1945 was signed to play Major League Baseball. Integration began on the baseball field.

The examples go on. From the storied tales of Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio to the modern-day legacies of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, baseball touches the lives of everyday Americans and fans around the world. I cannot imagine a more timely occasion than now, during the 2011 World Series, to honor baseball and its wonderful Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. I urge all my colleagues to support me in joining this cost-free, bipartisan legislation.

I thank the gentleman from New Mexico.

While every student of baseball knows, including my sister, Robin, who has told me many times that the New York Yankees are the finest team in the history of baseball, I would like to take this opportunity to wish good luck in the World Series to the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2527.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

I am opposed in its current form.

Mr. Speaker, bipartisan unity may be rare these days, but if there is one issue we have consistently come together on, it is the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran.

That's why last year's body voted to enact tough new sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. That's why 332 Members of this House are today cosponsors of new legislation to strengthen Iran sanctions law. And it is also why this body should join me on this final amendment to the bill so we do not reward companies that provide financial and material support to the Iranian regime-- because this bill, in its current form, will bolster Iran's illicit quest for nuclear weapons.

This legislation awards U.S. land to Resolution Copper, a company owned by Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto also owns a majority stake in the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia, where it partners with the Iran Foreign Investment Company. The Iran Foreign Investment Company is wholly owned by the Iranian regime, and last summer the Treasury Department added it to the list of Iranian entities in violation of sanctions law.

Quite simply, we are about to reward a company that partners with the Iranian regime to mine, of all things, the uranium it needs to become a nuclear-armed power. This Congress cannot be in the business of assisting a regime that plots an attack on U.S. soil, that kills brave American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and threatens to wipe our ally Israel off the map.

Iran has made its intentions clear. The Iranian nuclear program is not intended for peaceful purposes. Just last month, an IAEA agency report indicated ``increasing concerns'' about possible ``military dimensions'' to the Iranian program. The threat is real, and this Congress has always taken it seriously.

We have watched Iran attempt to make a mockery of U.S. law by finding new ways to evade sanctions. And now we are going to help them do it?

My amendment does one thing: It blocks any land exchange with a company or affiliate connected to the Iran Foreign Investment Company.

Let me be clear. This amendment will not prevent the passage of the legislation. If adopted, it will be incorporated and we will vote on the final bill. We have come together against a nuclear-armed Iran before, and we can do it again today. Let's put bipartisanship aside. Join me on this motion to recommit and let's unite against the very real threat of a nuclear-armed Iranian regime.

I am pleased to yield to the ranking member, the gentleman from Massachusetts.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

As a representative from the proud city of New York, which is the home of the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, I rise with strong enthusiasm in support of the National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coin, which was introduced by my friend and colleague from New York (Mr. Hanna), Congressman Hanna, and also congratulate Mike Doyle not only for his work on this bill but his winning work on the field of baseball here in Congress.

Sales of the coin will go to the Baseball Hall of Fame to finance its operations, with matching funds raised from nongovernment sources. This program will be operated at no cost to the American taxpayer but will help the Baseball Hall of Fame to do its important work not only now but into the generations to come.

Since the Hall of Fame and Museum opened in June of 1939, 14 million people have visited the site, which houses more than 38,000 3-D artifacts, 500,000 photographs, and 12,000 hours of recorded media on our Nation's favorite pastime. Cooperstown also claims to be the home of the original baseball game here in the United States. It truly is an institution in itself and serves as an educational tool in the classroom through videoconference technology and interactive lessons across the Nation.

A coin to commemorate the Hall of Fame will ensure that it can continue to do the good work that it has been doing for over 70 years. I am so proud that it's located in my State, and we have finally found something we can all agree on, our favorite pastime in America-- baseball.

I think it's important, given that we just passed the important and historic Gold Medal for the Montford Point Marines and recognized their fight in promoting and protecting human rights and civil rights. Literally, integration began on the baseball field. There on the mound, people come from across the country from all ethnic backgrounds, sometimes from foreign countries, to come together and support and work together in this wonderful sport that is truly an American sport.

And I would say the Nation's Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has spent many decades celebrating and honoring baseball. This bill will be able to continue their good, hard work, and I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this cost-free bipartisan legislation that hopefully every one of us can agree on.