House Passes Chairwoman McClain's Common Cents Act to End Wasteful Penny Production

WASHINGTON- Today, the House passed H.R. 10167, the Common Cents Act, legislation led by House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), to permanently end production of the penny for general circulation and modernize America's coinage system.

"Washington has a spending problem, and it shows up in places big and small," Chairwoman McClain said. "If the federal government is spending nearly four cents to make a penny worth one cent, something is broken. House Republicans are proving that common sense still has a place in government by cutting waste and protecting taxpayer dollars."

The Common Cents Act ends production of pennies for general circulation while keeping existing pennies legal tender and allowing the U.S. Mint to continue producing collectible coins. It also establishes uniform guidance allowing cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest five cents when exact change is unavailable. Electronic payments and other non-cash transactions will continue to be charged to the exact cent.

The legislation also directs the Federal Reserve to develop a national transition plan for the hundreds of billions of pennies already in circulation and requires Treasury to notify Congress before discontinuing any other circulating coin. It also authorizes a lower-cost nickel composition if testing shows it will reduce production costs without significantly disrupting coin-operated machines.

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