House Votes To Eliminate The Penny Permanently

A long-running symbol of spare change is on the way out, and Congress has now moved with rare speed and near-total agreement. The House has backed a plan to stop minting pennies, while also opening the door to cheaper nickel production and a broader cleanup of cash transactions.

The House of Representatives approved the bipartisan Common Cents Act in a unanimous vote, putting the 1-cent coin on a fast track toward history. The proposal would block the Treasury from making new pennies, except for collector versions, and it would let cash purchases be rounded to the nearest 5 cents.

That rounding idea is the heart of the bill. The goal is simple enough: if pennies disappear from circulation, then everyday cash deals need a new rule so customers and businesses are not stuck juggling useless copper-colored coins that clog registers and pockets.

Existing pennies would still be valid money, so the bill does not suddenly make them worthless. Instead, it would let them fade away naturally while cash transactions shift to a cleaner system that works without the smallest coin in the drawer.

There is also a carveout for cash wages. If a paycheck amount does not break evenly by 5 cents, the total would be rounded upward, a detail meant to avoid shortchanging workers as the old coin gets phased out.

The penny’s exit has been building for years, and the numbers have not been kind to it. By 2025, the cost to make each cent had climbed to more than three times its face value, a hard-to-defend setup for any federal coin, let alone one this common.

That expense is a big reason the Treasury has been eager to pull back. Officials have estimated the change could save about $56 million a year, money that would otherwise go into producing a coin most people do not even bother to pick up off the ground.

The U.S. Mint already stopped making pennies in November 2025 after 232 years of circulation. The bill now gives that decision some staying power, making it harder for a future administration to simply reverse course and restart production.

Behind the scenes, the measure also reflects an unusual moment of bipartisan overlap. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., helped steer the bill, showing that even in a divided Washington, some issues are so practical that both sides can get on board.

The proposal is not just about pennies, either. It includes language that would allow the U.S. Mint to make nickels from less expensive materials, a move aimed at trimming more waste from the coin system without forcing shoppers to care about the details.

Congress also wants a close look at who might feel the shift most sharply. The Treasury would be directed to study possible effects on low-income Americans, older consumers, and people without regular access to banking, since cash rules hit those groups differently than they hit card users.

That concern matters because even a small change at the register can ripple outward fast. Stores, workers, and customers all have to adjust, and a coin that seems trivial in theory can still create real friction if the rules are not designed with everyday life in mind.

Still, the larger mood around the penny has clearly changed. What once felt like a permanent piece of American life now looks more like a relic, and Congress is treating it that way by trying to lock in a future where the nation’s smallest coin finally steps aside.