World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2366) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of World War I, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials for the Record on H.R. 2366, as amended, currently under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, a few short weeks ago, the world marked the 96th anniversary of the signing of the peace accords between the Allied Forces and Germany that ended what, at the time, was called the Great War. Sadly, it was only the first of what we now call World Wars because it was followed only two short decades later by the beginning of what became known as World War II.

That anniversary, which America today calls Veterans Day, was, for years, called Armistice Day, and it is still called that across Europe. Four years from now, November 11, 2018, will mark the signing of that armistice. It will be 100 years since the end of that ugly, bloody war that ushered in aerial warfare, chemical weapons, tanks, and a host of other horrors.

Mr. Speaker, in the ensuing century we have not managed to move past war, and it is well that we remember its costs. For that reason, I rise in strong support of this legislation before us, H.R. 2366, introduced by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) along with the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver).

The World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act calls for the Treasury Secretary to mint and make available for sale no more than 350,000 silver coins in recognition of the centenary of the end of that war.

The veterans of the Great War are long gone, the last having died nearly 4 years ago. It is well that we remember, though, that nearly 4 million Americans, men and women, served in uniform during the First World War. Half of them served overseas, and some even volunteered to fight for other Allied armies even before the U.S. entered the war in April of 1917.

Of those 4 million veterans, even those who are not students of military history know some of the names, such as General John Joseph Pershing, known as ``Black Jack'' Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Forces in that war and became the only general of the armies promoted to that rank while he was alive.

Sergeant Alvin York was perhaps the best known and most decorated soldier, winning a Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a nest of enemy machine guns at the height of the Meuse-Argonne battles in France, capturing 32

of them and 132 enemies while killing 28.

James Norman Hall, an Iowa youngster, went to France before the U.S. entered the war to fly with the American-staffed Lafayette Escadrille of the French Air Corps, and later drifted to the South Seas where he cowrote the ``Mutiny on the Bounty'' trilogy.

Mr. Speaker, the coins authorized by this legislation would be sold at a price that would recoup all costs to taxpayers. The sale price would include a surcharge that, after requirements for raising private matching funds are met, would support the work of the World War I Centennial Commission established by the 111th Congress to plan and execute activities marking the centennial of the war.

This legislation currently has 302 cosponsors, and a companion bill introduced by Senator Blunt has 72.

Mr. Speaker, while not celebrating this or any other war, I urge Members to soberly reflect on the horrors and tragedy of this first global conflict and to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, Judge Poe.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time.

First of all, thanks to Mr. Cleaver and Mr. Lamborn for bringing this bill to the floor today. Thanks for your dedicated work on that.

Thanks to Mr. Poe. Around here we just simply know him as ``Judge,'' but thanks for his poignant comments.

As a Vietnam veteran returning to the United States in the 1973 era, I found a Nation that was disrespectful to young men and women who had served, myself included. I took my uniform off and put it in a closet, never to pull it out until I ran for Congress and people began to ask why I didn't tell about the military story.

That is a condition and a mindset that no matter how you are registered, no matter what culture you are in, what race, what religion, we must never let this happen again. We must be willing to sacrifice for those who have sacrificed for us and those who have been willing to make the sacrifice.

My grandfather was in World War I. As I was approaching my time to go to Vietnam, he visited with me about being in the Argonne Forest and about being gassed there. It left him with a lung condition and frailty throughout the rest of his life. But he never was sorry for serving, never was sorry for those things that had happened to him.

It is young men and women who are willing to do anything for others' freedom that we are honoring here today. And again, I would urge all to support this legislation. It is a noble concept and a noble tradition of remembering those who have served this country in the military.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, on December 1, 2014, on Roll Call #532 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended H.R. 5629-- Strengthening Domestic Nuclear Security Act of 2014, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 1, 2014, on Roll Call #533 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3438--National Laboratories Mean National Security Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #534 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 2040--Blackfoot River Land Exchange Act of

2014, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #535 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 5050--May 31, 1918 Act Repeal Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #536 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended H.R. 3572--To revise the boundaries of certain John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #537 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 5739--No Social Security for Nazis Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #538 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and H.R. 3240--Regulation D Study Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #539 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended H.R. 2366--World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #540 on H. Res. 766, Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5771) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend certain expiring provisions and make technical corrections, and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 647) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the tax treatment of ABLE accounts established under State programs for the care of family members with disabilities, and for other purposes. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #541 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and H.R. 5769--``To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2015, and for other purposes.'', I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #543 on the Democratic Motion to Recommit H.R. 5771, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #544 on Passage of H.R. 5771--Tax Increase Prevention Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #545 on Passage of H.R. 647-- Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #546 on the Motion on Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #547 on H. Res. 770--Rule providing for consideration of the Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 3979--National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, H.R. 5759--``Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act,'' and H.R. 5781--California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #548 on H. Res. 758--Strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against neighboring countries aimed at political and economic domination, as amended, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #549 on the Democratic Motion to Recommit H.R. 5759, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #550 on Passage of H.R. 5759, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #551 on the Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 3979, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

I thank the gentleman from New Mexico.

Mr. Speaker, it was called the ``War to End All Wars.'' It began 100 years ago, and after 3 years, World War I was a bloody stalemate.

Then the American doughboys entered the bloody trenches of Europe, and the tenacious teenagers went over there to a land they had never seen fighting for people they did not know. But soon after, the war turned in the favor of the Allies, and the war was over.

Allied victory was declared in 1918. Millions and millions of people throughout the world had died. 116,000 Americans died. Many more thousands died when they came back to America from the Spanish flu that they got while they were overseas.

The last surviving World War I veteran was Frank Buckles. This is a photograph of him shortly before his death. I got to know Frank Buckles before he died at the age of 110. Like I said, he was the last surviving World War I veteran from America.

He lied to get into the United States Army. He was probably 15. He convinced some Army recruiter that he was 21, and they signed him up. He served in World War I.

After World War I was over with, World War II started, and he found himself in the Philippines. He was captured by the Japanese and put in a prisoner-of-war camp until World War II was over.

But he came to the United States Capitol and met with many Members of the House and Senate for the sole purpose of making sure that those doughboys he fought with and who died were remembered by the United States Congress. His dying wish was that those he served with would be honored by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The proceeds from the sale of the coins will be used for the World War I Commission to help commemorate the sacrifices of those warriors. I was privileged to be appointed as an original member of the World War I Commission and still serve on the World War I Foundation.

I want to thank Congressman Cleaver from Missouri for all the work he has done to remember those doughboys, not only in this specific bill of getting this coin act passed but the original commission that he worked on to make sure that we, as an American Nation, remembered them.

I appreciate the work that the gentleman does in Kansas City with the first-class memorial that we have to honor those World War I veterans.

Mr. Speaker, all those that served, every one of them that served in World War I, they are all gone. There are none left. Frank Buckles was the last one.

But the United States World War I Commission will make sure we Americans remember and honor them, for the

worst casualty of war is to be forgotten.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from the State of New Mexico for his leadership.

I rise in support of H.R. 2366, which I introduced with the help of my colleague, Representative Emanuel Cleaver, which would require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of World War I.

The year 2018 will be the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice with Germany, marking the end of battlefield hostilities in World War I. During the war, more than 4 million men and women from the United States served in uniform, and more than 100,000 gave their lives.

To honor their service and sacrifices, Congress created the World War I Centennial Commission in 2013 and tasked them with planning and executing activities to commemorate the centennial of World War I through the use of private donations and coin sales.

By requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins to commemorate this centennial, this bill would allow us to honor the memory, service, and sacrifices of the brave veterans of World War I, while also providing the means to pay tribute to the end of World War I battlefield hostilities.

Other great conflicts, including the Civil War, World War II, the Korean war, and the Vietnam war, have all been memorialized on United States commemorative coins, but no such honor has been extended to the brave veterans of World War I. This year, 2014, as has been said, is the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, making it a very fitting tribute that we pass the measure for this year.

It is my pleasure to offer H.R. 2366. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with both Representative Emanuel Cleaver and Senator Roy Blunt on this important bill. Together, we have gathered 300 cosponsors in the House for this patriotic bill. It will not cost the U.S. Treasury anything, as has been said, but, on a voluntary basis, will actually raise money.

It is no coincidence that Representatives and Senators from the State of Missouri are helping on this effort. There is a wonderful memorial to World War I in Kansas City, Missouri, with an adjoining museum that is a world-class museum. For those who haven't had the opportunity to visit that museum and learn about this chapter in our Nation's history, I would strongly urge them to do so.

I thank Chairman Hensarling and the Financial Services Committee for their support of this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the brave veterans of World War I by supporting this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2366, the World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, introduced by Representative Doug Lamborn of Colorado's Fifth Congressional District, and seek its immediate passage.

Mr. Speaker, as you may know, this summer marked the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. The United States formally joined the war in April of 1917. During that time, more than 4.7 million Americans served, and of those brave men and women, more than 116,000 soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice.

While other great conflicts, including the Civil War, World War II, the Korean war, and the Vietnam war, have all been memorialized on United States commemorative coins, there currently exists no coin to honor the brave veterans of World War I. This bill would honor their service by directing the Secretary of the Treasury to, number one, hold a competition to design the coins and, number two, mint and issue $1 silver coins in commemoration of the centennial of America's involvement in World War I.

The sale of the coins will assist the World War I Centennial Commission in raising funds that will be utilized in commemorating U.S. involvement in the Great War and educating a new generation of Americans about the role the United States assumed in that war.

I am also pleased to report that the passage of this bill entails no net cost to taxpayers.

I would urge my colleagues to join me in passing this commonsense, bipartisan bill without further delay.

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