Would Minting Breast Cancer Awareness Coins Help Raise Money For Research? (H.R. 2722)

What is H.R. 2722?

(Updated November 21, 2017)

This bill was enacted on April 29, 2016

This bill would authorize the minting of commemorative coins by the Dept. of the Treasury in order to raise money for breast cancer research.

Specifically, there would be no more than 50,000 gold coins with a face value of $5 each, 400,000 silver coins with a $1 face value each, and 750,000 clad coins with a $0.50 face value each. In total, the face value of these coins would be $1,025,000.

There would be a substantial surcharge on the sales of these coins. Each $5 coin would have a $35 surcharge, while $1 coins would have a $10 surcharge, and the $0.50 coin would have a $5 surcharge. The proceeds of the sales of these coins would be split evenly between Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for the purpose of furthering research by those organizations.

Additionally, the cost of designing and producing the coins would be included in the final sale price when the coins are made available in 2018. The Treasury could also make bulk sales and prepaid orders at a discounted price.

Argument in favor

Minting coins is a good way to raise money for causes that deserve support like breast cancer research.

Argument opposed

If people would spend money on these coins to support breast cancer research, couldn’t they just make donations without the coins?

Impact

People who benefit from breast cancer research or would purchase the coins, and the Dept. of the Treasury.

Cost of H.R. 2722

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) said that:

“There are only a handful of ways Congress can raise money to assist this fight at no cost to taxpayers and creating a commemorative coin is one. If we pass this bill, we can provide millions of dollars to raise awareness and accelerate research.”

As of July 2015, this legislation has a whopping 307 cosponsors — including 165 Democrats and 142 Republicans.

Of Note: The American Cancer Society estimated that in 2015, there will be 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer in the U.S., and about 40,290 women will die because of breast cancer. According to BreastCancer.org - about 12 percent of women (or one-in-eight) will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. Men are also affected by breast cancer, although cases in men account for less than one percent of all breast cancer cases.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) Press Release
• CoinNews
• Breast Cancer Research Foundation (In Favor)