S. 3238: NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act

109th Congress · introduced 2006-05-25 · Commemorations · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2006-05-25 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act

Plain summary

NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to mint and issue: (1) 50 dollar gold coins; and (2) one dollar silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA and JPL. Directs each Federal agency and U.S. instrumentality that has in its possession any craft or any part of a craft that flew in space to: (1) retrieve any gold, silver, copper, and other metals that are appropriate for use in the production of any coins under this Act from such craft or part; and (2) deposit such metals with the Director of the United States Mint. Directs each federal agency and U.S. instrumentality that has or continues to conduct space-related missions to make efforts to secure and retrieve from privately-held craft flown in space such gold, silver, copper, and other metals that the Director determines are appropriate for use in the production of any coins under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bonze duplicates of the $50 gold coins authorized under this Act.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · 26 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] reported raising $8.6 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-109s3238.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/109/s>

Record fed-us-cong109-s3238 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong109 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong109