H.R. 2453 (112th): Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act

Introduced:
Jul 07, 2011 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-MO9]
Status:
Signed by the President
Slip Law:
This bill became Pub.L. 112-201.

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on December 4, 2012.

Progress
Introduced Jul 07, 2011
Referred to Committee Jul 07, 2011
Passed House Apr 18, 2012
Passed Senate with Changes Sep 22, 2012
Passed Senate Nov 15, 2012
Signed by the President Dec 04, 2012
Votes

House Vote on Passage
Apr 18, 2012 5:06 p.m.
Passed 408/4

House Vote on Passage
Nov 15, 2012 6:02 p.m.
Passed 370/19

Cosponsors
298 cosponsors (183R, 115D) (show)
Committees

House Financial Services

Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of Mark Twain.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Jan 01, 2012.
4 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

12/4/2012--Public Law. (This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on September 22, 2012.
The summary of that version is repeated here.) Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Mark Twain. Limits issuance of such coins to calendar year 2016.
Requires specified surcharges in the sale of such coins, which shall be promptly paid, in specified percentages, to:
(1) the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, to support the continued restoration of the house and grounds, and ensure continuing growth and innovation in museum programming to research, promote, and educate on the legacy of Mark Twain;
(2) the University of California, Berkeley, for the benefit of the Mark Twain Project at the Bancroft Library to support programs to study and promote the legacy of Mark Twain;
(3) Elmira College, New York, for research and education purposes; and
(4) the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, to preserve historical sites related to Mark Twain and help support study and promotion programs.
Directs the Secretary to take actions to ensure that:
(1) minting and issuing such coins will not result in any net cost to the federal government, and
(2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, are disbursed to any recipient designated in this Act until the total cost of designing and issuing all of the coins authorized by this Act is recovered by the Treasury.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/112/2/hr2453.

Background

According to the findings of the bill, Samuel Clemens—better known to the world as Mark Twain—was a unique American voice whose literary work has had a lasting effect on our Nation's history and culture.  Mark Twain remains one of the best known Americans in the world with over 6,500 editions of his books translated into 75 languages.

Twain's literary and educational legacy remains strong even today, with nearly every book he wrote still in print, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn--both of which have never gone out of print since they were first published over a century ago.

In the past 2 decades alone, there have been more than 100 books published and over 250 doctoral dissertations written on Twain's life and work.  Even today, Americans seek to know more about the life and work of Mark Twain, as people from around the world and across all 50 States annually flock to National Historic Landmarks like the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, CT, and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, MO.

Mark Twain's work is remembered today for addressing the complex social issues facing America at the turn of the century, including the legacy of the Civil War, race relations, and the economic inequalities of the “Gilded Age.”

Summary

H.R. 2453 would direct the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Mark Twain and would limit issuance of such coins to calendar year 2016.


The bill also requires specified surcharges in the sale of such coins, which would be paid, in specified percentages, to: (1) the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, to support the continued restoration of the house and grounds, and ensure continuing growth and innovation in museum programming to research, promote, and educate on the legacy of Mark Twain; (2) the Mark Twain Project at the Bancroft Library of University of California, Berkeley, California, to support programs to study and promote Mark Twain's legacy; (3) the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College, New York, for the same purposes; and (4) the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, to preserve historical sites related to Mark Twain and help support study and promotion programs.

Cost

There was no Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate available for this bill.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)