For America's 250th Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. ADERHOLT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on the bill that, as the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee just mentioned, I was privileged to introduce. It is a bicameral, bipartisan $2.50 for America's 250th Act in partnership with Congresswoman and fellow U.S. Semiquincentennial Commissioner Bonnie Watson Coleman, as well as Commissioners Congresswoman Maria Salazar and Congressman Dwight Evans.

I thank the chair and ranking member of the Financial Services Committee for their support for this piece of legislation, as we have tried to put it together.

This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a $2.50 collectible anniversary coin and a viability study for a potential circulating $2.50 coin for everyday use for every American.

The collectible coin will feature the historical design originally issued for America's 150th anniversary. This coin will memorialize and celebrate our moment in American history.

I am grateful for the partnership of my House and Senate colleagues, especially as the America 250 Caucus is now the largest congressional caucus in U.S. history, with bipartisan leadership in both Chambers.

As a founding member of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission that was tasked with preparing for our Nation's 250th anniversary celebration, it has been a privilege over the past decade to work on bipartisan legislation to honor 250 years of America's independence.

Before I go on, I must recognize what a privilege it has been to serve with my Democrat sponsor of this legislation, Bonnie Watson Coleman.

Unfortunately, she is retiring after this Congress, following an incredible trailblazing career. She will be missed and her voice will be missed in committee, this Chamber, and the entire institution. I thank her for her service to our Nation and to the America 250 Commission, in particular.

Madam Speaker, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was a turning point in the history of the United States and also the world, one that warrants national recognition.

I am honored to speak in support of a bill that recognizes this landmark moment of our collective history through a coin that links our Nation's past to its present and its future.

In particular, as someone who fondly remembers, as the chairman mentioned, the bicentennial celebration, even though we were very young at the time, these coins were issued for that occasion at that time. These coins gave parents, families, and community members the opportunity to obtain a physical keepsake to pass down for the next generation. This is exactly what this legislation would do, as well.

I know that my parents passed the circulating coin down to me, and I still have them, as well.

This legislation will also carry on the example set by the 68th Congress that celebrated our Nation's 150th anniversary by authorizing the United States Mint to commemorate the 150th anniversary of America's independence.

Beside me right here is an image of the historical design that was used back in 1926. This bill puts strict design parameters around the new $2.50 coin to continue that tradition. The only changes that will be made are to update the dates to reflect and celebrate another century that has passed since this coin was put into circulation 100 years ago.

As America marks its 250th anniversary this year, the coin will honor the same ideas and values that were recognized back then for the sesquicentennial in 1926.

Every citizen deserves the opportunity to acquire such a coin as a means to connect the founding principles of liberty, democracy, and self-governance. The $2.50 anniversary coin for the 250th anniversary provides an opportunity for the American people to engage with and to take personal ownership of their national heritage through a tangible and lasting tribute.

In addition to the congressionally authorized activities already planned by the Mint, this new anniversary coin will serve not only as a lasting tribute to the founding generations but to the ideals that we share with them to this very day. It also is a unifying and educational gesture on the occasion of the 250th, or the semiquincentennial, that we celebrate.

In this day and age, I can find no issue more worthy of Congress' attention than an initiative that codifies our unity and reminds us that there will always be more that unites us than divides us.

Madam Speaker, again, I thank my colleague, Bonnie Watson Coleman, for working with me on this piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to vote for this initiative and to follow in the footsteps of our predecessors in the 68th Congress in 1926 who set an example that will last for generations to come.

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