For The Media

Dollar Coin Alliance Commends Effort to Save Taxpayers Billions

Washington, DC (April 7, 2011) — With a possible government shutdown looming, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) today released a budget proposal for fiscal year 2012. Included in the proposal is the recommended elimination of the dollar bill in favor of the dollar coin. The Committee notes that transitioning to a dollar coin would save the government $215 million over a 10-year period and $5.5 billion over the next 30 years.

“During a time when Republicans and Democrats are both looking for ways to trim the budget, this is simply a good, common sense proposal,” said Shawn Smeallie with the Dollar Coin Alliance. “Every year the government is literally throwing money away on an out-dated, anachronistic currency system – we applaud the Republican Study Committee for tackling this important issue.”

The Republican Study Committee proposal follows a recent report by the Government Accountability Office estimating billions in government savings with a transition to the dollar coin. The report, “Replacing the $1 Note with a $1 Coin Would Provide a Financial Benefit to the Government,” strongly recommends the replacement of the dollar bill with a dollar coin and estimated $5.5 billion in government savings over a 30-year period. Depending on certain assumptions in their analysis, this savings could be as high as $11.1 billion. The RSC budget noted that “the GAO has published four previous reports on the benefits of the $1 coin – in 1990, 1993, 1995 and 2000 – twice recommending the elimination of the $1 note to ensure the success of the coin.” Estimates of average annual cost savings have ranged from nearly $200 million to more than $500 million per year.

The Dollar Coin Alliance is a coalition of American small businesses, budget watchdogs, trade associations and private companies with a singular focus of moving the United States toward an economical, environmentally friendly dollar coin.

For more information, or to get involved, please visit www.DollarCoinAlliance.org or for inquiries contact Matt Meenan at (202) 289-4001 or mmeenan@XenophonStrategies.com.

Dollar Coin Alliance Mission Statement

The Dollar Coin Alliance is dedicated to saving American taxpayers billions of dollars by transitioning to a one dollar coin. We are focused on educating taxpayers and policy-makers about the benefits of increasing dollar coin circulation. We believe the dollar coin will yield cost savings to American businesses and consumers, smaller environmental impact, assistance to the visually impaired and improved national commerce.