Skip to main content
H.R. 5512 110th Congress House

Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2008

Official title: To reduce the costs of producing 1-cent and 5-cent coins, provide authority to the Secretary of the Treasury to perform research and development on new metalli… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To reduce the costs of producing 1-cent and 5-cent coins, provide authority to the Secretary of the Treasury to perform research and development on new metallic content for circulating coins, and to require biennial reports to Congress on circulating coin production costs and possible alternative metallic content.

Introduced: February 28, 2008 See on congress.gov
Finance and Financial Sector Administrative procedureAlloysBuy AmericanCoins and coinage
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Department of the TreasuryForeign Trade and International FinanceGoldGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment procurementLawPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesSteelWeights and measures
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 110th Congress ended
It never became law before the 110th Congress (2007–2008) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 14 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 12, 2008
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
May 8, 2008
The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
May 8, 2008
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
May 8, 2008
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR 5/6/2008 H3096-3097)
May 8, 2008
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR 5/6/2008 H3096-3097)
May 8, 2008
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3203-3204)
May 6, 2008
At the conclusion of debate, the chair put the question on the motion to suspend the rules. Mr. Carter objected to the vote on the grounds that a quorum was not present. Further proceedings on the motion were postponed. The point of no quorum was withdrawn.
May 6, 2008
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5512.
May 6, 2008
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3096-3099)
May 6, 2008
Mr. Gutierrez moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Mar 11, 2008
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Feb 28, 2008
Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology.
Feb 28, 2008
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Feb 28, 2008
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action May 12, 2008

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2008 - Requires the one-cent coin (except for Lincoln Bicentennial Numismatic Pennies) to be produced primarily of steel and treated to impart a copper color to its appearance similar to one-cent coins produced of a copper-zinc alloy.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in the alternative, during the 90 days following enactment of this Act, to add any other element to any alloy of zinc and copper of which one-cent coins could have been composed before enactment of this Act, if during such 90-day period another element is determined to help produce one-cent coins of the same diameter, general composition, and general weight, but at a lower unit cost. Requires a prompt report to Congress if such a determination is made.

Directs the Secretary, two years after enactment of this Act, to produce only five-cent coins primarily made of steel with a coating of nickel, unless by that time the unit cost of production of existing five-cent coins is lower than their face value. Requires the Secretary, however, to recommend a different metallic content of circulating five-cent coins if any biennial report to Congress, required by this Act, indicates that such a different metallic content is both functional and interchangeable with existing coins, and more economical to produce in both the short and long term.

Authorizes the Secretary, in order to accomplish the goals of this Act, to research, develop, evaluate or begin to use new metallic material for circulating coin production.

Requires the Secretary to report biennially to specified congressional committees on the production costs for each circulating coin, cost trends, and possible new metallic materials or technologies for the production of circulating coins, with detailed recommendations for any appropriate changes to the metallic content of circulating coins.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 3956 Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2007
 Bill text 3 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 3
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5512: Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2008. 110th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-5512/
MLA
"H.R. 5512: Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2008." 110th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-5512/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5512, 110th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-5512/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5512: Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2008](https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-5512/)
Report a problem