- Potential benefitLowers environmental footprint by decreasing copper and zinc mining for penny production.
- Potential benefitDecreases coin handling, transportation, and storage costs for banks and retailers.
- Federal agenciesSimplifies federal coinage statutes by removing references to the one-cent denomination.
Make Sense Not Cents Act
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
The Make Sense Not Cents Act prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from minting or issuing 1-cent coins and makes conforming statutory edits to remove references to that coin. The bill includes a Sense of Congress statement reaffirming congressional authority over coinage and explicitly preserves existing 1-cent coins as legal tender.
Whether cash-rounding will be regressive and how to guard consumers
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a straightforward substantive change that specifies a clear legal prohibition and includes multiple conforming statutory edits and an explicit preservation of legal tender status.
The Make Sense Not Cents Act prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from minting or issuing 1-cent coins and makes conforming statutory edits to remove references to that coin.
The bill includes a Sense of Congress statement reaffirming congressional authority over coinage and explicitly preserves existing 1-cent coins as legal tender.
Modest chance: content is narrow and administratively doable, but stakeholder pushback and procedural hurdles could block a standalone measure.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a straightforward substantive change that specifies a clear legal prohibition and includes multiple conforming statutory edits and an explicit preservation of legal tender status. It provides adequate statutory direction but omits several implementation, fiscal, and oversight details.
Whether cash-rounding will be regressive and how to guard consumers
Who stands to gain, and who may push back.
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
- ConsumersRounding of cash transactions could slightly increase costs for cash-dependent consumers.
- Potential burdenDiscontinuing pennies may reduce employment at the U.S. Mint and suppliers.
- Potential burdenBusinesses and financial institutions will face one-time transition expenses updating systems and training.
Why the argument around this bill splits.
Whether cash-rounding will be regressive and how to guard consumers
Likely supportive because the bill ends a government practice seen as wasteful and aligns with progressive priorities to reduce unnecessary spending and environmental impacts.
Concern will focus on ensuring the phase-out does not unduly harm low-income people via cash rounding.
Support is conditional on protections for consumers and fair rounding rules.
Generally favorable if the fiscal case is clear and implementation is managed carefully.
Likely to emphasize evidence, a clear transition plan, and safeguards to avoid regressive effects.
Views the change as modest but requiring administrative guidance and public education.
Reaction split: some conservatives welcome eliminating a money-losing government activity, while others worry about government interfering in commerce and the absence of rules protecting consumers from rounding.
Skepticism about federal overreach is tempered by a desire to avoid hidden costs to businesses and consumers.
The path through Congress.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Modest chance: content is narrow and administratively doable, but stakeholder pushback and procedural hurdles could block a standalone measure.
- Absent formal CBO/score estimate for fiscal impact
- Potential lobbying by metal suppliers and collectors
Recent votes on the bill.
No vote history yet
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Go deeper than the headline read.
Whether cash-rounding will be regressive and how to guard consumers
Modest chance: content is narrow and administratively doable, but stakeholder pushback and procedural hurdles could block a standalone meas…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a straightforward substantive change that specifies a clear legal prohibition and includes multiple conforming statutory edits and an explicit preservation of lega…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.