Hon. Michael G. Oxley: “There is an avenue, I would suggest to my friend from New York, to honor large groups. That would be the commemorative…”

“There is an avenue, I would suggest to my friend from New York, to honor large groups. That would be the commemorative coin. It is somewhat ironic that after the reforms that were made by the gentleman from Delaware where we tightened the restrictions on commemorative coins, and for good reason, that we then had this increase in the gold medal. I think we can safely say that the gold medal traditionally supports the concept of honoring an individual for service to the country, and that the commemorative coin, which has been essentially put on the back burner, presents a very appropriate avenue for recognizing groups that heretofore have not been honored. I think that the reforms in the past and the ones that the gentleman from Delaware is now propounding in this bill makes excellent sense. I think once the Members understand the changes, that they are going to gravitate toward the concept of a commemorative coin as opposed to the gold medal. That is precisely what the gentleman from Delaware proposes in this legislation.”