[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 35 (Friday, February 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         SAVE THE GREENBACK ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Davis] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Save the 
Greenback Act, a bill designed to preserve the status of the American 1 
dollar bill, also known as the American Greenback, which has been a 
staple of our currency since 1862, and since 1869 has carried the 
likeness of the Founder of our Nation, George Washington.
  The Kingston Trio's song that said ``And I don't give a damn about a 
green back dollar,'' has maintained a timelessness and elegance for 
future generations. However, the plans to discontinue printing the 1 
dollar bill and to phase it out of existence, will incite a great 
number of people into giving a damn about a greenback dollar, because 
their pockets will be weighted down with heavy change instead of having 
a few bills tucked into their billfolds.
  During that entire period, we have never heard the American people 
express their disagreement, or their displeasure with the 1 dollar 
bill. In fact, as many of you are aware, the mere mention of any 
redesign of our currency inevitably triggers an onslaught of calls from 
constituents.
  In past Congresses there have been misguided efforts by special 
interests to replace the 1 dollar bill with a coin. The proponents of 
this coin make three bold claims; that is will be easier to handle, it 
will be popular with the American people and that it will save money.
  Let me address each of these claims in turn: Imagine if you will, 
replacing ten 1 dollar bills in your wallet with ten coins in your 
pocket. After several days, one might suspect a conspiracy by clothing 
manufacturers in drafting the dollar coin proposal, as everyone's 
pockets begin to wear out.
  As to the coin's popularity with the American people: There have been 
three national polls on this issue in the last year. In every poll, the 
American people overwhelmingly rejected any attempt to do away with the 
dollar bill and have expressed their displeasure for replacing it with 
a coin.
  The most recent poll was conducted in January, under the auspices of 
the House Budget Committee. Only 18 percent of those questioned 
preferred a dollar coin.
  Earlier polls have indicated a very real concern by the American 
people that if the dollar coin becomes law, the price of items 
purchased from vending machines, such as food, laundry and diet coke 
will rise. They also expect to see increases in the costs of other 
items such as parking meters and pay telephone calls.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation designed to eliminate the dollar bill 
will an excuse by the special interests to raise prices on everyday 
items--a future sales tax, to be levied on all Americans but falling 
the hardest on those who can least afford it.
  None of us really want to see a repeat of the Susan B. Anthony drama 
in which the dollar coin was overwhelmingly rejected by the public. It 
did not save a nickel when it was minted, although proponents said at 
the time that a substantial savings would be realized.
  At this moment, there are over 300 million Susan B. Anthony coins 
sitting idle in the U.S. Mint. Will we have to make room a few years 
down the road for the new dollar coin because we did not heed the hard 
lessons of the past?
  It is not enough to blame the failure of the Susan B. Anthony on its 
design alone. The people rejected it as part of the currency system. 
They had a choice, and they voted against it.
  It is important to note that the proposed dollar coin legislation 
will not allow the American people a choice, but will mandate on them a 
coin that they do not want.
  Further, the dollar coin will not generate sufficient savings to 
justify such a major disruption in the lives and habits of the American 
people. Given the serious economic challenges facing this Congress, I 
believe that there are more urgent problems before us than forcing a 
change from the 1 dollar bill to a coin.
  The costs of changing to a 1 dollar coin would be significant to many 
in the private sector including but not limited to the small town banks 
which would have to retool their coin counting, wrapping and sorting 
equipment--costs which would inevitably be passed on to their 
customers. The facts is, the 1 dollar bill has remained in existence 
for so long because people didn't want to carry bulky coins. They still 
don't.
  Mr. Speaker, many of us were elected to this body by a public tired 
of being dictated to by their Government, having unwanted legislation 
forced on them, and tired of laws enacted for the sole benefit of 
special interests. We would do well to remember that we are here to 
advance the interests of the American people and not put needless 
obstacles in their path.


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