U.S. Senate Passes Common Cents Act to Review Nickel Production Costs

On October 7, 2026, U.S. senators passed the bipartisan Common Cents Act, which aims to formally end the production of the penny and has been sent to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature. The bill also includes a provision for the Treasury Department to study the potential use of cheaper materials for producing nickels. Currently, it costs taxpayers eight cents to produce a nickel, which is five cents in value. House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., stated, "If it costs 13 cents to make a five-cent coin, Washington should fix the problem instead of wasting more taxpayer money." She emphasized that the bill provides a pathway for the Treasury to reduce nickel production costs without disrupting their usage. The bill authorizes a lower-cost nickel composition if testing indicates that production costs can be lowered without significantly affecting coin-operated machines. However, support for completely ending nickel production remains uncertain. The legislation also includes measures for stores to round transactions to the nearest five cents as pennies are phased out, with specific rounding rules established for cash transactions. This follows a previous move by Congress to eliminate the penny, with the Mint reporting the production of 3.2 billion pennies in 2024 alone. The article cites information from Fox News Digital and previous reporting by LiveNOW from FOX.