Sponsors (2)
The bill trades modest, ongoing taxpayer and business savings and some federal statutory simplification from reducing penny-related minting and handling against preserving transactional continuity and convenience for consumers and businesses — producing small rounding effects, carryover handling costs, and some implementation expenses.
Taxpayers, financial institutions, and businesses would save money over time because the bill ends penny minting and reduces coin-handling burdens (lower production, storage, and transaction handling costs).
Consumers, businesses, and government cash-handling entities avoid sudden transactional disruption because the bill preserves the ability to use pennies for debts and taxes and delays any immediate withdrawal from circulation.
Federal employees and agencies face simpler statutory references and slightly reduced administrative complexity because obsolete cross-references to the penny are removed and renumbered.
Cash-paying consumers and small businesses could see final paid prices slightly change because some cash transactions would be rounded under new rules.
If pennies remain accepted, taxpayers and businesses would continue to bear ongoing production and handling costs (minting, storage, and transaction time) instead of realizing forecasted savings.
Retailers and consumers could face slower checkout times and more complicated point-of-sale operations because continued penny acceptance complicates cash handling.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Stops the Treasury from producing new one‑cent coins, removes legal authorizations and cross‑references to the penny, and confirms existing pennies remain legal tender.
Introduced May 1, 2025 by Jeff Merkley · Last progress May 1, 2025
Prohibits the Treasury Department from minting or issuing the U.S. one-cent coin (the penny), removes or renumbers federal statutory references that authorize or reference the penny, and makes small related cross‑reference changes in federal law. The bill also explicitly states that existing pennies remain legal tender for all public and private debts and obligations.