The Legal Tender Modernization Act was a bill proposed by United States Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona in 2002. Its main goal was to stop the continual production of pennies. The bill also mentions other provisions including:
The bill failed to advance in the house and died when the 107th Congress adjourned.
Critics of the Legal Tender Modernization Act state that by eliminating the penny, the rounding system would increase prices that could hurt the consumer, especially the lower class. Kolbe however has responded to such criticism and has stated that the rounding system "favors neither the consumer nor the retailer because the probability of rounding up or down is 50 percent either way – it would all come out even in the end."[1]
Other common criticisms include charitable causes depending on the penny, its perceived historical importance, and the adverse effect on the zinc industry as a penny is 97.5% zinc.[2] [3]