Sponsors (13)
The bill formally honors Arturo Schomburg and increases public access to a commemorative medal while using Mint sales and its fund to offset costs, but it remains primarily symbolic, carries modest fiscal and administrative risks, and does not provide new program funding to address structural cultural or educational needs.
Black communities, students, researchers, and the general public will gain increased recognition of Arturo Schomburg and greater public awareness of the Schomburg Center and Black/African diaspora history, supporting education and scholarship.
Museum visitors, researchers, nonprofits, collectors, and members of the public can view the Schomburg gold medal and purchase bronze replicas, expanding physical access to and engagement with the commemorative item.
The U.S. Mint can produce and sell the medals under established numismatic rules and use its Public Enterprise Fund to recover production costs, keeping the commemorative program largely self-funded and reducing the need for new appropriations.
Taxpayers could face modest costs from minting, the commemorative ceremony, statutory compliance, and potential storage or disposition expenses if medal sales underperform.
Directing production costs and sales revenue into the Mint's Public Enterprise Fund rather than general Treasury receipts modestly reduces flexible government revenue and could affect other services if the Fund is insufficient.
Managing production, pricing, marketing, and sales will impose administrative burdens on the Mint and Secretary, potentially diverting staff time and resources from other duties or Mint activities.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 3, 2025 by Nydia M. Velázquez · Last progress March 3, 2025
Authorizes a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal honoring Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, directs the Secretary of the Treasury to have a gold medal struck, and requires that the medal be presented on behalf of Congress and then given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture for display and research. The bill also allows the Treasury Secretary to produce and sell bronze duplicate medals at prices that cover production costs, designates the medals as national and numismatic items, and ties production costs and duplicate-sale proceeds to the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.