250th Anniversary of the United States Marine Corps Commemorative Coin Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BERGMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I also thank Representative Sherman for the articulate history of the Marine Corps and also the articulate present of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and the museum.

We don't get to where we are going in life without looking at history and looking at the commitment of others over time to ensure that those times when we had to use American force to preserve our freedoms and the freedoms of others that the Marines were and are the force in readiness. It is called the 911 force, ready to fight tonight. That is who we are. That is our ethos, and we will always remain that.

This coin bill is just the tip of the iceberg for the next generations as they hold that coin to understand what it means for the United States to have the Marine Corps, but also what it means to a young man or woman to become a marine.

By the way, marines are not afraid of work. In fact, we kind of pride ourselves on the fact that we can get 25 hours out of every 24-hour day. That is just the way we are.

Getting a coin bill done takes a lot of work. Unlike more substantive policy bills, which require countless hours of research, meetings, and hearings, a coin bill requires two-thirds of all the Members of the House to cosponsor the legislation. By the way, two-thirds of the House is a significant number of people--290, to be exact.

To highlight how high of a bar that is, since I arrived in Congress in 2017, the House has seen more than 36,000 bills introduced. Of those, just 0.72 percent of the bills have received 290-plus cosponsors. We are in that top 1 percent, with the number of Members of the House who got behind this bill. That is a big deal.

This was a labor of love on my part and, I am sure, on Mr. Moulton's part. I enjoyed the literally hundreds of conversations I had with fellow Members here on the floor to hit that 290 mark, to talk about the Marine Corps and the huge benefits and proceeds of this bill, which costs the taxpayer nothing but will provide revenue to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.

In an attempt to educate some of my colleagues on the importance of this bill, if they didn't understand the Marine Corps, I said: Just remember, this bill is going to commemorate 250 years of tradition of the Marine Corps unmarred by progress. They looked and said: Are you serious? I said: Well, think about it. I just want your signature.

The bottom line is, when they stopped laughing, they saw how serious we were as marines. We are all serious, but we laugh. Yes, we were founded in a bar in Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. Yes, there were some recruiters there probably making some outlandish promises, but on November 10, every marine everywhere in the world does celebrate that day in Tun Tavern.

The heritage center is located very close to D.C. It is in Triangle, Virginia. It exists to preserve and promulgate the history, tradition, and culture of the Marine Corps and to educate all Americans and all who visit it on the virtues of what the Marine Corps stands for. As my colleague said, ``Semper Fidelis'' is our motto. We believe it. We live it.

After we pass this bill and it is signed into law, the next best thing happens: The U.S. Mint will work with the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation on the coin's design. Once the design has been approved, the coin celebrating the illustrious 250 years of history of the Marine Corps will be minted at the only facility where the United States produces precious metals and commemorative coins.

There is a little irony here. It will be produced at the West Point Mint aboard the campus of the United States Military Academy, the preeminent institution for educating our next generation of Army leaders.

By the way, one of my grandsons is in his second year at West Point. I told him he gets a free tour of the mint, and I will buy him a coin.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, colleague, and fellow marine, Seth Moulton, for starting the ball rolling here and for helping to get this bill over the finish line, and Chair McHenry for his kind words in the process.

Madam Speaker, again, I thank all my colleagues here in the House, all the folks in the Senate who have made this coin possible because it is the right thing to do for the country to show the young men and women who will someday decide to become marines that it is worth it. I urge all Members to support H.R. 1096.

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