House passes bill to cut cost of producing pennies, nickels
Posted on Friday, May 9, 2008
WASHINGTON — The House voted for cheaper change Thursday, the kind that would make pennies and nickels worth more than they cost to make and save the country $ 100 million a year.
The unanimous vote advances the legislation to the Senate, but its prospects are muddled by objections from the Bush administration and some lawmakers.
The bill would require the U. S. Mint to switch from a zinc and copper penny, which costs 1. 26 cents each to make, to a copperplated steel penny, which would cost 0. 7 cent to make, according to statistics from the Mint and Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio, one of the measure’s sponsors.
It also would require nickels, now made of copper and nickel and costing 7. 7 cents to make, to be made primarily of steel, which would drop the cost to make the 5-cent coin below its face value.
Advocates say that such actions would push back against surging metal prices and save taxpayers about $ 1 billion over a decade.
The Mint opposes the Housepassed measure. Mint Director Ed Moy said that the 270 days the legislation grants to convert the nation to a steel penny is too short for the metal industry to weigh in and could incur additional costs. In addition, steel may be vulnerable to surging costs just as the metals currently used.
The legislation directs the treasury secretary to suggest a new, more economical composition of the nickel and the penny. Unsaid is the Constitution’s requirement that Congress have the final say.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., is expected to introduce another version of the legislation in the Senate.
In 2007, the Mint produced 7. 4 billion pennies and 1. 2 billion nickels, according to the House Financial Services Committee.
Other coins still cost less than their face value, according to the Mint. The dime costs a little over 4 cents to make, while the quarter costs almost 10 cents. The dollar coin, meanwhile, costs about 16 cents to make, according to the Mint.
The House bill is H. R. 5512.
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