Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Eliminate the Penny From Production

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday to eliminate the penny from future production.

The “Common Cents Act” would require the Treasury Department to stop producing the one-cent coin within a year of the bill's enactment.

The legislation was introduced by representatives Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), along with senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

The proposed bill follows President Donald Trump’s announcement on social media earlier this year in which he expressed his desire to stop minting new pennies due to the rising cost of production.

"For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!" Trump wrote on Truth Social in February.

The bill would require cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest five cents. However, electronic payments would not be affected by the rounding requirements.

The U.S. Mint reported losing $85.3 million in the 2024 fiscal year on nearly 3.2 billion pennies, with each coin costing about four cents to produce.

Under the legislation, pennies would remain legal tender indefinitely, but their production for general circulation would end.