Congress funds diplomatic history through commemorative coins—no taxpayer cost
S. 2229 — United States Foreign Service Commemorative Coin Act · Filed by Dan Sullivan (R-AK) · 16 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 9, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill authorizes the U.S. Mint to produce and sell commemorative coins (gold, silver, and clad) celebrating the 250th anniversary of U.S. diplomacy and the 100th anniversary of the Foreign Service, established in 1924. All surcharges from coin sales—$35 per $5 gold coin, $10 per $1 silver coin, and $5 per half-dollar—go to the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training to fund oral history, research, and public education about U.S. diplomatic history.
Why we flagged it
This is a straightforward commemorative coin bill—a routine legislative instrument authorizing the Mint to produce limited-edition coins with surcharges directed to a nonprofit historical organization. It is not a tax measure, appropriation, or regulatory change.
What the text implies
- The bill ties coin issuance to the 2-commemorative-coin-per-year cap under 31 USC 5112, meaning this program may displace another commemorative coin authorization in 2029 if Congress has already approved two programs for that year.
- Surcharge distribution is contingent on full cost recovery by the Treasury; if coin sales underperform, the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training receives reduced or no funding, creating uncertainty for the nonprofit's planning.
- The 1-year issuance window (Jan 1–Dec 31, 2029) creates a narrow market window; collectors and speculators may rush purchases, inflating demand and secondary-market prices.
Who it affects
The bill creates no direct cost to taxpayers (the Mint recovers all costs from coin sales before any surcharge is distributed). Surcharges fund a nonprofit organization preserving diplomatic history and oral records—a genuine public good. Citizens interested in numismatics or history gain access to commemorative coins, and the broader public benefits from enhanced historical documentation and public education about U.S. diplomacy.
Who stands to gain
- Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (nonprofit recipient of surcharges)
- U.S. Mint (operational revenue from coin production and sales)
Named in the bill
U.S. Mint, Secretary of the Treasury, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, Commission of Fine Arts, Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, U.S. Department of State, George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center
Where it stands
16 cosponsors: 13 Democrats, 2 Republicans, 1 Independents.
- Jul 9, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jul 9, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 8, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress funds diplomatic history through commemorative coins—no taxpayer cost” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s2229 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.