Erie Canal Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Erie Canal Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act authorizes a commemorative coin program for the canal's 200th anniversary. Congress makes findings about the canal's 363-mile route from Albany to Buffalo, its role in reducing freight rates by 90 percent, opening markets, supporting settlement, and shaping social reform movements and upstate New York communities. Coin designs must be emblematic of the Erie Canal's impact and selected by the Treasury Secretary after consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts and Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, Inc., with review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. Surcharges are $35 for each $5 coin, $10 for each $1 coin, and $5 for each half-dollar, and they go to the Heritage Fund for preservation, conservation, recreation, interpretation, tourism, community development, education, and commemoration after Treasury recovers all design and issuance costs.
Who Benefits and How
Erie Canalway Heritage Fund benefits because coin surcharges finance preservation, conservation, recreation, tourism, education, and commemorative programs. Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor communities benefit if surcharge-funded work supports tourism and community development. Coin collectors benefit from a federally authorized Erie Canal bicentennial coin series. New York history educators benefit because the program spotlights the canal's role in freight costs, western markets, reform movements, and regional identity.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The United States Mint must design, market, mint, sell, and account for the commemorative coins. Treasury must recover all design and issuance costs before surcharges are disbursed. Erie Canalway Heritage Fund must satisfy audit requirements before and after receiving surcharge proceeds. Coin buyers bear the surcharge costs built into each $5, $1, or half-dollar coin purchase.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes Erie Canal bicentennial commemorative coins.
- Requires coin designs to reflect the Erie Canal's impact on the United States and New York.
- Directs consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts and Erie Canalway Heritage Fund.
- Provides surcharges to the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund after Treasury recovers all program costs.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Authorizes Erie Canal bicentennial commemorative coins, directs design consultation, sends surcharges to the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, and requires Treasury cost recovery before disbursement.
Key Policy Areas
Commemoration, Public History, Mint
Primary Purpose
Authorizes Erie Canal bicentennial commemorative coins, directs design consultation, sends surcharges to the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, and requires Treasury cost recovery before disbursement.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Erie Canalway Heritage Fund
- Heritage Corridor communities
- Coin collectors
- History educators
Identified Costs
- United States Mint
- Treasury
- Erie Canalway Heritage Fund
- Coin buyers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Tenney introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Coin buyers, Coin collectors
Positive-direction: Coin collectors
Negative-direction: Coin buyers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology