Common Cents Act

Summary

The Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, & International Financial Institutions of the Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on June 12, 2025 titled "Evaluating the Defense Production Act". The Common Cents Act was attached to this hearing. H.R. 3074 directs the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting the penny, requires cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest five cents, and for other purposes. Two witnesses testified: Mr. William Russell, Director of Contracting and National Security Acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office, and Mr. Adam G. Levin, Analyst in Economic Development Policy at the Congressional Research Service. The hearing examined the Defense Production Act alongside several bills proposing amendments to modernize and reauthorize the 1950 law, which grants the President authority over critical production and economic policy during emergencies. On July 23, 2025, the Committee ordered H.R. 3074, as amended, to be reported favorably to the House by a recorded vote of 35 yeas and 13 nays. The hearing itself did not determine the bill's fate; the committee's subsequent vote to advance it came weeks later. An amendment ceasing production of one-cent coins for general circulation while preserving numismatic coins was adopted by voice vote.

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Witnesses(2)

Summary

On July 22, 2025, the House Committee on Financial Services held a markup session to consider ten bills addressing various financial services issues. The bills included H.R. 3074 (Common Cents Act), which would direct the Treasury to stop minting pennies for general circulation while allowing production for collectors and requiring cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest five cents; H.R. 4544 (American Access to Banking Act), which aims to streamline the application process for forming new banks and credit unions by reducing regulatory burdens and duplicative information requests; and H.R. 4437 (SMART Act), which would reduce examination requirements for well-managed and well-capitalized financial institutions with $6 billion or less in assets. The markup also addressed H.R. 4430 (Expanding WKSI Eligibility Act), H.R. 4460 (SAFE Guidance Act), H.R. 3190 (BRAVE Burma Act), H.R. 3446 (FDIC Board Accountability Act), H.R. 4346 (PEACE Act), H.R. 4429 (Developing and Empowering our Aspiring Leaders Act), and H.R. 4431 (Improving Capital Allocation for Newcomers Act). A markup is a procedural step where a committee considers and potentially amends bills before voting to advance them to the full House. The bills advanced from this markup do not automatically become law but must pass both chambers of Congress and be signed by the President.

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