National Park Quarters Gain Senate and House Traction

The call for national park quarters grew louder with progress in the House and introduction in the Senate.

The joint quarter-dollar legislation seeks to:

"provide for a program for circulating quarter dollar coins that are emblematic of a national park or other national site in each State, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the United States."

Senate bill, S. 3214, is nearly identical to House version, H.R. 6184. They both, in fact, bear the same name: America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008.

Senator John Barrasso [R-WY] sponsored the Senate version and introduced it on June 26 — twenty-two days after the House version. S. 3214 is in its initial phase and before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

H.R. 6184 was voted out of committee on June 25 with a recommendation for consideration and a vote by the entire House.

Should a reconciled version pass the House, Senate and Presidential signature, 5 new park quarters per year would be issued starting in 2010.