[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 103 (Monday, July 21, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7768-S7769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. GRAMS (for himself and Ms. Moseley-Braun):
S. 1038. A bill to provide for the minting and circulation of one
dollar coins, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs.
the efficient currency act of 1997
Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, today Senator Moseley-Braun and I are
introducing the Efficient Currency Act of 1997. The bill calls for a
newly designated, golden-colored $1 coin to replace the Susan B.
Anthony dollar coin.
The argument for a $1 coin is simple: it saves money. According to
estimates of the General Accounting Office and the Federal Reserve,
replacing the $1 bill with a coin saves the Government $2.28 billion
during the first 5 years it circulates. As we consider plans to balance
the budget and eliminate Government waste, I believe that carrying a $1
coin along with $2 bills is a relatively painless option compared to
the alternatives of raising taxes or cutting important programs.
A public opinion poll conducted in May 1997 reveals that 58 percent
of the American public favors replacing the $1 bill with a coin when
informed that such a change would save the Government $456 million
annually.
I want to stress that the Efficiency Currency Act of 1997 does not
call for a phase out of the $1 bill until 1 billion $1 coins authorized
under this legislation are in circulation. If the public rejects the
new coin, the phase-out will not occur.
Unless this legislation is approved in the near future, the U.S. Mint
will begin the process of minting more of the unpopular Susan B.
Anthony coins by 1999. The supply of Anthony coins in Government
inventories fell by a total of 137 million coins in 1995 and 1996. Only
146 million remains as of May 30. The inventory has been falling at the
rate of about 5 million per month, because Anthony dollars are used at
hundreds of vending locations, by more than a dozen major transit
systems, and by the U.S. Postal Service. Contrary to reports by
opponents of the dollar coin, the U.S. Postal Service has no plans to
discontinue the use of the Anthony dollar in their self-service
operations. The timeframe for a decision by Congress is short, because
the U.S. Mint has stated that it needs 30 months to design and
fabricate a new $1 coin.
I think one of the most compelling reasons to replace a $1 bill with
a $1 coin is the cost savings. First, the Treasury Department will save
money. A $1 coin lasts about 30 years while costing about 8 cents. A $1
bill is significantly more expensive, as it lasts only 1 year and 1
month at a cost of 4 cents per bill.
Second, the private sector will save money. A $1 coin is easier to
process than a $1 bill. Paper money received on buses must be hand-
straightened at a cost of over $20 per 1,000, or about 2 cents for each
dollar. Coins can be processed for less than one-tenth of the cost. The
change to a $1 coin is estimated to save the mass transit industry $124
million annually.
Furthermore, vending operators could avoid placing dollar bill
acceptors, which cost between $300 and $400 each, on each vending
machine. The additional cost of these machines eventually must be
passed on to customers. In addition, bill acceptors frequently do not
work and are more expensive to maintain than coin mechanisms.
Another benefit is that many consumers will actually have less, not
more, change in their pocket. Instead of having to use 4, 8, or 12
quarters to pay for mass transit, parking meters, phone calls, and car
washes, they will use dollar coins weighing a fraction the weight of
many quarters.
The visually impaired support the introduction of a $1 coin because
the $1 bill can be confused with bills of higher denominations. A
useable $2 coin will permit them to complete small transactions without
ever having to use paper money.
This legislation is called the Efficiency Currency Act because
passage would bring efficiencies to the private sector as well as to
Government. This commonsense approach to modernizing our currency is
not an original idea. In fact, the United States is the only major
industrialized country that does not have high denomination coins.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that both a copy of the
Efficient Currency Act of 1997 and a summary of its contents be entered
into the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1038
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Efficient Currency Act of
1997''.
SEC. 2. ONE DOLLAR COINS.
(a) Color and Content.--Section 5112(b) of title 31, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ``dollar,''; and
(2) by inserting after the fourth sentence, the following:
``The dollar coin shall be golden in color, have a
distinctive edge, have tactile and visual features that make
the denomination of the coin readily discernible, be minted
and fabricated in the United States, and have similar
metallic, anticounterfeiting properties as United States clad
coinage in circulation on the date of enactment of the
Efficient Currency Act of 1997.''.
(b) Design.--Section 5112(d)(1) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in the third sentence, by striking ``the dollar, half
dollar,'' and inserting ``half dollar''; and
(2) by striking ``The eagle'' and all that follows through
``Anthony.'' and inserting the following: ``The Secretary of
the Treasury, in consultation with Congress, shall select
appropriate designs for the reverse and obverse sides of the
dollar coin.''.
(c) Effective Date.--Before the date on which the
Government inventory of Susan B. Anthony $1 coins is
depleted, the Secretary of the Treasury shall place into
circulation $1 coins authorized under section 5112(a)(1) of
title 31, United States Code, that comply with the
requirements of subsections (b) and (d)(1) of that section
5112 (as amended by this section). The Secretary may
include such coins in any numismatic set produced by the
United States Mint before the date on which the coins are
placed in circulation.
(d) Increase Capacity.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall
increase capacity at United States Mint facilities to a level
that would permit the replacement of $1 Federal Reserve notes
with $1 coins minted in accordance with section 5112 of title
31, United States Code, as amended by this Act.
SEC. 3. CEASING ISSUANCE OF ONE DOLLAR NOTES.
(a) In General.--Federal Reserve banks may continue to
place into circulation $1 Federal Reserve notes in accordance
with section 5115 of title 31, United States Code, until
Susan B. Anthony coins and coins minted in accordance with
this Act and the amendments made by this Act total
1,000,000,000 coins in circulation, at which time no Federal
Reserve bank may order or place into circulation any $1
Federal Reserve note.
(b) Exception.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), the
Secretary of the Treasury shall produce only such number of
$1 Federal Reserve notes as the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System orders from time to time to meet the
needs of collectors of that denomination. Such notes shall be
issued by 1 or more Federal Reserve banks in accordance with
section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act and sold by the
Secretary, in whole or in part, under procedures prescribed
by the Secretary.
SEC. 4. REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue appropriate rules
and regulations to carry out this Act and the amendments made
by this Act.
____
Summary of the Efficient Currency Act of 1997
New and Unique Coin: Section 2(a) of the bill authorizes
production of a new dollar coin that (1) is golden in color,
(2) has a distinctive edge, (3) has tactile and visual
features that make the denomination of the coin readily
discernible, and (4) has similar metallic anti-counterfeiting
properties of U.S. clad coinage. This will make the dollar
coin easily distinguishable from a quarter.
Images on the Coin: Section 2(b) authorizes the Treasury
Department to select new designs, in consultation with
Congress, for the obverse and reverse sides of the dollar
coin.
Timetable for Circulation: It is expected that the mint
will have to issue new Susan
[[Page S7769]]
B. Anthony coins by September 1999. Section 2(c) of the bill
requires that the Treasury Department must replace the Susan
B. Anthony dollar coin with a new (and more usable) dollar
coin before the mint's inventory of Susan B. Anthony coins
are depleted.
Termination of $1 Bill: The Efficient Currency Act
effectively lets the public decide whether the Treasury
Department should retain or terminate the dollar bill.
Section 3(a) states that if the use of the new dollar coins
dramatically increases so that there are at least one billion
coins in circulation, then the dollar bill shall be
terminated.
______