Common Cents Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 10167, the Common Cents Act, sponsored by Representative McClain.

Last year, the President announced on Truth Social--not the best way to make a government announcement--that Treasury would stop minting pennies. Frankly, I disagree with almost everything the President does, but this one makes sense. I have been advocating for the abolition of the penny for over 20 years in our committee, and it is time that we move forward on this.

Following this announcement, the Treasury moved forward, and the Mint has stopped producing pennies. Unfortunately, the decision to stop minting pennies ignored the authority of Congress in regulating currency and overseeing a major transition away from producing pennies. We saw that this abrupt decision resulted in major consequences across the country that led to penny shortages for banks, retailers, and consumers and created confusion in the economy.

It is not enough to stop minting pennies. We need a bill that tells retailers and customers how much they are supposed to pay in nickels, dimes, and dollars. However, as written, this legislation addresses many of these issues and establishes much-needed standards and guidelines going forward.

Since we marked up the Common Cents Act in our committee, this bill has continued to be meaningfully improved, thanks to the work of our ranking member, Maxine Waters, and other Financial Services Committee Democrats, including Representative Garcia.

The Common Cents Act formally directs the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting pennies. It also allows the Mint to test a lower-cost composition for the nickel, which chiefly would be zinc, and to make use of the zinc that is now going into pennies. Moreover, by using zinc for the nickel, not only will we save money, but it will be lighter, and that will be important for the cost of those who are transporting large quantities of coins, and it will be a little lighter in your pocket. This bill not only deals with the penny, but it also improves the nickel.

The bill provides clarity on rounding cash transactions. When I proposed in committee 20 years ago, and I proposed it at townhalls, people were concerned that somehow this would lead to higher prices and that somehow retailers would benefit.

The fact is, it is the consumer, not the retailer, who determines whether you buy two nail files at the same time and that happens to round down, and then buy another two nail files at the same time, and that transaction is rounded down. I can't imagine anybody doing that to save a nickel, but it is the consumer, not the retailer, that decides what goes into the basket. I can't imagine anybody looking at this. If somebody does care, it is the retailer in control.

We have formal rules here on rounding down when it is 2 cents or 1 cent. That is important for commerce to go forward.

Under this bill, the Federal Reserve would be required to issue a strategic plan for managing and limiting disruptions in the penny supply.

Recently, in August, the Senate added a new section that requires the Treasury to submit notification to the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee regarding potential plans to discontinue any coin, among other requirements. This is important because Congress plays a key role in these processes. There has been some disruption, and we need to be in a position to manage it.

My focus on the fact that we didn't need pennies arises from the fact that I used to head the second largest sales

tax agency. What consumers may not know is that every time you do a transaction--last year, last decade, 20 years ago--the amount you pay the retailer is subject to rounding. There is a tax of 5 percent or 8 percent, and the amount you actually owe is $1.125, which is rounded down.

We have been rounding transactions for a long time in this country. Now, we will be rounding to the nearest nickel instead of rounding to the nearest penny.

Further, by eliminating the penny, we create extra room in the cash register where the penny used to go. That room could be used for a dollar coin. We all know that it costs more than a dollar to print a dollar and that a paper dollar wears out.

I look forward to popularizing the dollar coin. This will be a boon to our transit agencies, vending machines, and others when people use a dollar coin. Growing up, we had a dollar coin. We just called it a quarter. We had a quarter. We used it. It was worth about what a dollar is worth today.

Mr. Speaker, while I am not a big fan of the inflation that has taken place in my lifetime, I do think it is time to popularize the dollar coin. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster), the State that is the Land of Lincoln.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 10167) to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting the penny, to require cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cents, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Republican Conference Chairwoman McClain's Common Cents Act. Rather than spending more money producing a coin than the coin itself is worth, this straightforward, commonsense bill ensures that Congress is a good steward of taxpayers' dollars by providing long-term fiscally responsible solutions.

Mr. Speaker, let's look at the numbers. According to an audit of the United States Mint, it costs $3.69 to make a 1-cent penny. In fact, for 19 consecutive years, the U.S. Government has spent more than one penny to make one penny. In 2024 alone, taxpayers lost more than $85 million producing pennies.

Chairwoman McClain's bill eliminates that wasteful spending by codifying President Trump's directive to the Mint to stop producing new pennies for circulation. However, we also need to make sure we are not solving one problem by creating another.

If we stop making pennies, then Americans are likely to use more nickels, and at nearly 14 cents to produce nickels, they aren't exactly a bargain either. That is why this bill gives the Treasury Secretary the flexibility to move a lower-cost composite for the nickel, again, saving taxpayers money.

The bill also provides a clear uniform standard for rounding cash transactions to the nearest nickel when exact change isn't available, ensuring our small businesses have the certainty they need.

Importantly, the bill keeps Congress informed by requiring Treasury to notify the House and Senate and explain their reasoning before discontinuing any additional circulating coins.

This is very simple. The Federal Government should not spend more money to make something than it is worth itself. We should look for savings where we can, modernize outdated practices, and ensure businesses and consumers have certainty at the register.

Mr. Speaker, this is what responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars looks like.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support Chairwoman McClain's bipartisan Common Cents Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. McClain), the House Republican Conference chairwoman and sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 10167, the Common Cents Act.

This is a straightforward bill that does one commonsense thing: It stops the Federal Government from losing money on a coin that almost no one uses.

Every penny we mint costs taxpayers nearly 4 cents to make and distribute--4 cents to make just one penny. In this single year, that absurd math cost the taxpayers more than $85 million.

As a businesswoman, I can tell you no businessowner in my district would spend $4 to make $1, but that is exactly how Washington has run with the penny. It doesn't make sense.

President Trump saw the waste, and then he acted. Last November, the Mint struck the final penny. This bill writes that decision into law so no future administration can turn the presses back on.

The Mint projects $56 million in savings in just 1 year. Let me be clear: Nobody is taking away pennies you already have. The penny in your pocket, the coin sitting in your jar on the counter, that all stays as legal tender.

I introduced this bill with Congressman Robert Garcia. It is not radical. It is bipartisan. It is common sense.

Republicans and Democrats don't often agree on much in this town, but I do think we agree on this: We shouldn't be wasting $85 million a year by keeping to mint pennies.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to modernize our currency, cut the waste, and bring a little common sense back to Washington. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, for the reasons I explained earlier, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I agree it makes perfect economic sense to retire the denomination of the penny and, in fact, reemploy the dollar coin in ordinary commerce.

As a Representative of Illinois, I cannot but mention the fact that the loss of the image of Abraham Lincoln on coins we often use is a tragedy that we can and should avert. The way to do that is to simply place the image of Abraham Lincoln on the newly minted dollar coin, a win-win every way you look at it.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 10167 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.