House Passes Revised Common Cents Act, Advancing Credit Union-Backed Penny Measure
By CU Today Staff —
WASHINGTON—The House has again approved the credit union-backed Common Cents Act, passing a revised version that would formally end production of pennies for general circulation and establish a national framework for handling cash transactions as the one-cent coin becomes increasingly scarce.
The House passed H.R. 10167 by voice vote Monday under suspension of the rules, according to the House clerk.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) with Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) as a cosponsor, would allow cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest nickel when exact change cannot be provided, while noncash transactions would continue to be settled to the exact cent. Existing pennies would remain legal tender, and the Treasury could continue producing pennies for collectors. The measure also provides legal protections for financial institutions and businesses that follow its rounding provisions.
The latest House action follows passage of an earlier version, H.R. 3074, in July and Senate approval Aug. 7 of its version, S. 1525. The new H.R. 10167 incorporates a broader package that includes Federal Reserve reporting on penny orders, deposits and the stability of the coin-distribution system, along with an assessment of the effects of the penny's disappearance on low-income, older, unbanked and underbanked consumers. It also would permit Treasury to test a less costly composition for the nickel.
Originally reported by CU Today.