HR 5512 RFS 
‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE
1-CENT
COIN
COMPOSI-
TION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, before the end of 
the 90-day period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of the Coin Modernization and Tax-
payer Savings Act of 2008, the Secretary deter-
mines that, with the addition of any other ele-
ment to any alloy of zinc and copper of which 
1-cent coins could have been composed as of the 
day before such date of enactment, there is a 
way— 
‘‘(i) to produce 1-cent coins of the 
same diameter, general composition, and 
general weight as 1-cent coins produced in 
accordance with this subsection as of the 
day before such date of enactment; and 
‘‘(ii) to achieve the goals of paragraph 
(1) by reducing the unit cost to produce 
the 1-cent coin to less than 1 cent while re-
taining such coin’s ease of use and ensur-
ing ease of co-circulation with 1-cent coins 
of the diameter and weight already circu-
lating as of such date of enactment for or-
dinary commerce, 
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HR 5512 RFS 
the Secretary may add any such element and 
continue production of 1-cent coins of the same 
diameter, general composition, and general 
weight as 1-cent coins produced in accordance 
with this subsection as of the day before such 
date of enactment instead of complying with 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE
PERIOD.—This para-
graph shall only apply if the change to the new 
composition and the subsequent drop in the 
production cost of the 1-cent coin referred to in 
subparagraph (A) can be achieved before the 
end of the 270-day period referred to in para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(C) REPORT
TO
THE
CONGRESS.—Any 
determination and action by the Secretary 
under subparagraph (A) shall be promptly re-
ported to the Congress.’’. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO CHANGE METALLIC CONTENT OF 5- 
CENT COINS TO LESS COSTLY ALTERNATIVE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 5112 of 
title 31, United States Code, (as amended by section 3) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(3) 5-CENT COIN.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the end of the 
2-year period beginning on the date of the en-
actment of the Coin Modernization and Tax-
payer Savings Act of 2008, the Secretary shall 
produce no 5-cent coin that is not primarily 
made of steel with a coating of nickel, that can 
co-circulate with the existing supply of 5-cent 
coins and work interchangeably in coin handling 
machines, except that— 
‘‘(i) the Secretary shall make no 
change to the content of the existing 5- 
cent coin if at that point the unit cost of 
production of such coins is lower than the 
face value of the coin; and 
‘‘(ii) if the report issued by the Sec-
retary pursuant to section 6 indicates that 
a different metallic content of circulating 
5-cent coins is both functional and inter-
changeable, 
and 
more 
economical 
to 
produce in both the short and long term, 
the Secretary shall propose such content to 
the Congress in the form of a legislative 
recommendation. 
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‘‘(B) FACTORS
TO
BE
CONSIDERED.—In 
prescribing the weight and the composition of 
the 5-cent coin, the Secretary shall consider— 
‘‘(i) factors relevant to the potential 
impact of any revisions to the weight and 
composition of the material on the current 
coin suppliers; 
‘‘(ii) factors relevant to the accept-
ability of new coinage materials, including 
the effect on vending machines and com-
mercial coin processing equipment and 
making certain, to the greatest extent 
practicable, that any new coins work with-
out interruption in existing coin acceptance 
equipment without modification; and 
‘‘(iii) such other factors that the Sec-
retary, in consultation with merchants who 
would be affected by any change in the 
weight and composition of the 5-cent coin, 
vending machine and other coin acceptor 
manufacturers, vending machine owners 
and operators, transit officials, municipal 
parking officials, depository institutions, 
coin and currency handlers, armored-car 
operators, car wash operators, and Amer-
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ican-owned manufacturers of commercial 
coin processing equipment, considers to be 
appropriate and in the public interest, 
after notice and opportunity for comment. 
‘‘(C) COMMENT
AND
SELECTION
PROC-
ESS.—In making any determination with re-
spect to any change in the weight and composi-
tion of the 5-cent coin, the Secretary shall enter 
into a formal rulemaking process that includes 
a hearing on a record in addition to the publi-
cation of notice and opportunity for comment.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
Section 5112(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘and weighs 5 grams’’. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND DEVEL-
OPMENT ON ALL CIRCULATING COINS. 
To accomplish the goals of this Act, the Secretary 
may conduct any appropriate testing within or without the 
Department of the Treasury, and may solicit input from 
or otherwise work in conjunction with entities within or 
without the Federal government including independent re-
search facilities or current or potential suppliers of the 
material used in volume production of circulating coins, 
to complete the report referred to in this Act and to de-
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