WASHINGTON — The House voted for cheaper change Thursday, the kind that would make pennies and nickels worth more than they cost to make and save the country $100 million a year.
The unanimous vote advances the legislation to the Senate, but its prospects are muddled by objections from the Bush administration and some lawmakers.
The bill would require the U.S. Mint to switch from a zinc-and-copper penny, which costs 1.26 cents each to make, to a copper-plated steel penny, which would cost 0.7 cents to make, according to statistics from the Mint and Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio, one of the measure's sponsors.
It also would require nickels, now made of copper and nickel and costing 7.7 cents to make, to be made primarily of steel, which would drop the cost to make the 5-cent coin below its face value.
