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Promoting Agriculture and Excellence
Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve. Those 12 words are the motto of the National FFA Organization. Since 1928, when the organization was founded, millions of agricultural students have embraced it. The strong values and work ethic that are part of this tradition still thrive today in rural America and elsewhere. To commemorate the positive difference that the National FFA Organization has made in the lives of young Americans, to the benefit of all Americans, I’ve introduced legislation to allow the minting of coins, in conjunction with the organization’s upcoming 85th anniversary.
The commemorative coin legislation would require the U.S. Mint to issue 100,000 gold coins and 500,000 silver coins. After all operational and program costs incurred by the Treasury are recovered, then funds raised from the sale of the coins would go to the National FFA Foundation. As a result, the program is designed to incur no costs. The National FFA Foundation would use its proceeds to enhance and expand the organization’s programs that develop leadership skills, encourage personal growth and foster career success through agricultural education.
In 1950, Congress recognized the importance of these programs to vocational agriculture and granted a federal charter to what was then the Future Farmers of America. Today, the National FFA Organization continues to be an intra-curricular educational organization within public school systems. There are 523,309 members in 7,487 local chapters in 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Iowa, there are more than 12,000 members in 222 local chapters.
Congress may authorize commemorative coins that celebrate aspects of American history and culture. Sixteen senators have cosponsored my National FFA Organization Commemorative Coin Act of 2011 -- S.1181 -- recognizing the valuable contribution of the organization and this special way to celebrate it. Since the current commemorative coin program began in 1982, more than $418 million has been raised to help build new museums, maintain national monuments such as the Vietnam War Memorial, preserve historical sites including George Washington's home, and support Olympic programs, for example.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve. Those 12 words are the motto of the National FFA Organization. Since 1928, when the organization was founded, millions of agricultural students have embraced it. The strong values and work ethic that are part of this tradition still thrive today in rural America and elsewhere. To commemorate the positive difference that the National FFA Organization has made in the lives of young Americans, to the benefit of all Americans, I’ve introduced legislation to allow the minting of coins, in conjunction with the organization’s upcoming 85th anniversary.
The commemorative coin legislation would require the U.S. Mint to issue 100,000 gold coins and 500,000 silver coins. After all operational and program costs incurred by the Treasury are recovered, then funds raised from the sale of the coins would go to the National FFA Foundation. As a result, the program is designed to incur no costs. The National FFA Foundation would use its proceeds to enhance and expand the organization’s programs that develop leadership skills, encourage personal growth and foster career success through agricultural education.
In 1950, Congress recognized the importance of these programs to vocational agriculture and granted a federal charter to what was then the Future Farmers of America. Today, the National FFA Organization continues to be an intra-curricular educational organization within public school systems. There are 523,309 members in 7,487 local chapters in 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Iowa, there are more than 12,000 members in 222 local chapters.
Congress may authorize commemorative coins that celebrate aspects of American history and culture. Sixteen senators have cosponsored my National FFA Organization Commemorative Coin Act of 2011 -- S.1181 -- recognizing the valuable contribution of the organization and this special way to celebrate it. Since the current commemorative coin program began in 1982, more than $418 million has been raised to help build new museums, maintain national monuments such as the Vietnam War Memorial, preserve historical sites including George Washington's home, and support Olympic programs, for example.
Friday, July 1, 2011