[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.
                                 ______