Published: 10-02-08
Commemorative Coin Passes House and Senate Sent to President for Signature
Washington DC – U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) today announced congressional approval of the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 5872) authorizing the “100 Years of Scouting” commemorative coin in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America in 2010.
The U.S. Senate passed the measure by unanimous consent on Saturday September 27 following House approval on May 15 2008. The bill will now be sent to President Bush to be signed into law.
“Boy Scouts are a significant part of American culture shaping the values citizenship and skills of millions of young men” Sessions stated. “As an Eagle Scout with four generations of Boy Scouts in my family I strongly value the Boy Scouts’ history of instilling a sense of duty to God country and self.”
This year Sessions introduced H.R. 5872 with the support of 297 Members of Congress and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) introduced companion legislation in the Senate. The legislation instructs the U.S. Mint to produce 350000 commemorative coins in honor of the Boy Scouts’ anniversary and a share of the proceeds from the sale of the coins will be donated to fund scouting activities in underserved areas of the country. Only two commemorative coins are selected for U.S. Mint production each year and minting of the coins for 2010 will occur between February 8 2010 and January 11 2011.
“I am pleased that the Senate has approved this legislation to mint a commemorative coin celebrating an important mark in the Boy Scout’s history. Scouting has been a positive influence on millions of young men across the country” said Senator Jeff Sessions who is also an Eagle Scout. “I remember well my experiences as a Scout and the valuable principles I learned then continue to guide me during my work as a United States Senator. This coin will help recognize the positive contributions that scouting has made in the development of so many young men in our country.”
“Boy Scouts unites Americans from all walks of life and I am very pleased with the strong bipartisan support in Congress and across our nation for the ‘100 Years of Scouting’ commemorative coin” Congressman Sessions noted. “From conservation to character building the Boy Scouts’ 100th Anniversary celebrates the highest Scouting ideals of helping others and making communities stronger. I believe that a commemorative coin will be an important and influential symbol for Scouts of all ages and raising awareness of the importance of Scouting programs for future generations.”
Congressman Sessions’ father former FBI Director Judge William S. Sessions and his son Bill Sessions join him with the distinction of Eagle Scout. Sessions’ grandfather William A. Sessions Jr. wrote the first handbook for the God and Country Award for the Boy Scouts of America.
Founded in 1910 the Boy Scouts of America is the largest youth organization in the United States with 3 million youth members and 1 million adult leaders in the traditional programs of Cub Scouts Boy Scouts and Venturing. Since 1910 over 111 million youth have participated in Scouting’s traditional programs. In the past 4 years alone Scouting youth and their leaders have volunteered more than 6.5 million hours of service to their communities through more than 75000 service projects benefiting food banks local schools and civic organizations.
