October 19, 2012

U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator,

Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has introduced S. 3612, the Commemorative Coins Reform Act, which would prohibit the payment of surcharges for commemorative coin programs to private organizations or entities. On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support this legislation.

After a commemorative coin is minted, the Treasury is reimbursed for the production costs of the coins as they are bought by collectors. However, there is a surcharge on top of the price of the coin, which is given to the private organization that the coin commemorates.

S. 3612 would prohibit the distribution of commemorative coin surcharges to any organization outside of the federal government. Any amount of surcharges collected in excess of the amounts necessary to cover production costs would be returned to the Treasury for deficit reduction. Because the money from the surcharge does not go to the U.S. Mint or Treasury, the passage of S. 3612 would presumably allow the government to lower the price of coins for consumers without affecting its bottom line.

At a time when the national debt has grown to more than $16 trillion, the nation simply cannot afford to waste money fattening the pockets of special interest groups. I urge you to support the Commemorative Coins Reform Act. All votes on S. 3612 will be among those considered in CCAGW’s 2012 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW