House Bill Packages Common Sense GAO Recommendations, Including Currency Modernization, to Save Taxpayers Billions

Washington D.C. (July 24, 2014) – The Dollar Coin Alliance strongly supports the introduction of the United Savings and Accountability Act today, a bipartisan House bill that will save the federal government nearly $200 billion over 10 years. The USA Act packages a number of recommendations by the Government Accountability Office to reduce, eliminate, or better manage federal programs and save money for taxpayers.

The USA Act, which was introduced by Reps. Mike Coffman (R-CO-6) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ-9), packages together select savings opportunities detailed in GAO reports from 2011 to 2014 to preserve bipartisan support, and to ensure quick and easy implementation. Together, the provisions of the bill would generate nearly $200 billion over 10 years, including $4.4 billion from eliminating the dollar note and modernizing to a dollar coin. Other savings opportunities include:

• Data Centers ($10 Billion) – Consolidate data centers across agencies for cost savings and efficiency
• Passports for Taxes ($10 billion) – Cancel passports of citizens who owe more than $50K in taxes
• Medicare/Medicaid Fraud ($33 billion) – Improve CMS ability to find and eliminate fraud

“For years, Congress has been struggling to enact real, meaningful budget reform,” says Jim Kolbe, Honorary Co-Chair of the Dollar Coin Alliance. “The USA Act is common sense legislation that will be a significant step forward in these efforts; saving nearly $200 billion by eliminating wasteful spending and making the government more efficient.”

The dollar coin is a measure endorsed not only by the GAO, but also by numerous budget watchdogs, a majority of Americans, editorial boards from across the country and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. Earlier this year, former Treasury Department economist Aaron Klein estimated that the government could save as much as $13.8 billion by eliminating the dollar bill in favor of the coin. The Currency Optimization Innovation and National Savings (COINS) Act (S. 1105 and H.R. 3305) was introduced earlier this Congress by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both chambers of Congress.

 

“Taking advantage of savings offered by provisions like currency modernization is long overdue,” says Tim Penny, Co-Chair of the Dollar Coin Alliance. “The dollar coin is just one example of an opportunity for Congress to generate billions in savings, without cutting a single program or raising a single tax.”