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House of Representatives

Common Cents Act

2026-07-14 Issue 114 Showing 1–3 of 3

Official Congressional Record ↗

Stephen F. Lynch

Democrat 2:50 p.m.

“This penny bill is good. Other people had this idea before. Some countries already did it. But our old President did it wrong. He did it suddenly and without enough planning. I am glad some colleagues worked on a better plan. Our plan now is to make a rule for how to round off transactions when we stop making pennies. This plan tries to avoid unintended consequences. I want my colleagues to support this bill.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3074, the Common Cents Act, sponsored by Representative McClain. I thank Representative McClain, along with Representative Robert Garcia, for their work on this legislation. The idea to end penny production is not a new one. In fact, other countries, like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, have stopped producing pennies themselves. However, many of these countries executed this plan through a deliberate and meaningful process. Unlike the approach taken by other countries, in February 2025, President Donald Trump abruptly announced on his Truth Social media account that he directed the Treasury to stop minting pennies. This decision, not surprisingly, ignored the critical role and constitutional authority of Congress in regulating the currency. While the Secretary of the Treasury did carry out President Trump's orders, the administration failed to provide a strategic plan or guidance for the public on how to handle this change, which would impact all segments of the economy. This sudden decision is emblematic of how the administration carries out policy. They do it suddenly, without expert engagement, without feedback, and without consideration of potential harms. For these reasons, I was glad to see that Ranking Member Waters, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), Representative McClain, and Representative Garcia worked together for over a year to thoughtfully provide much-needed clarity to businesses and consumers in this legislation. In its current form, this bill has made significant improvements from when it was first marked up in our committee. As drafted, the bill now allows businesses to round cash transactions if exact change cannot be provided, and it also authorizes businesses to continue to round in favor of customers. This legislation also requires the Federal Reserve to prepare a strategic plan in connection with managing the circulation of the penny. Additionally, the bill will now grapple with potential unintended consequences that come from ending penny production, like rounding cash transactions on low-income and unbanked communities and more. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentleman from Arkansas for his leadership on this. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Robert Garcia

Democrat 2:50 p.m.

“I want taxpayers to stop spending so much money making pennies. Right now it costs almost 4 cents to make 1 cent. This wastes money. I want this bill to pass. It makes sense. It will save the government money. Other countries stopped using pennies and they are fine. The bill says businesses can round to the nearest nickel if they want. People can keep the pennies they have. But the government should stop making more pennies. Let's stop wasting money on pennies.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to co-lead this legislation with Representative Lisa McClain, and I rise, of course, in strong support of this bill. As has been said, we know that a penny costs taxpayers 3.7 cents to produce, so it makes zero sense to spend almost 4 cents creating only 1 cent. This bill is common sense. It has bipartisan support, and it saves taxpayers money and reduces waste. In 2023 alone, the Mint lost approximately $180 million making pennies. The reality is that the penny now is just out of date. As the cost of living increases for many, with folks tapping technology on their phones or cards to pay their bills, we should not be pouring millions and millions of taxpayer dollars into a coin that is now rarely used. This is not a partisan idea. As has been said, countries from all across the world--Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others--have stopped using and producing low-value coins without any issues or problems for the population. This bill provides clarity by giving businesses the option, not the requirement, to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel when exact change isn't available. It also ensures that existing pennies, more than 114 billion of them, will also remain legal tender. Folks can keep those pennies if they have them at home. Now, the government should stop spending nearly 4 cents to make 1 cent coins. The Common Cents Act eliminates a wasteful, obsolete coin while protecting pennies as legal tender. Let's stop throwing good money after the bad and pass the Common Cents Act.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Stephen F. Lynch

Democrat 3:00 p.m.

“I don't have much to add. I want to cheer for this bill too. I want the government to force businesses to round prices. I hope my colleagues vote yes.”

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