PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Dec 15, 2011
Saving Taxpayer Expenditures by Employing Less Imported Nickel Act or STEEL Nickel Act - Amends federal law governing the production of coins to repeal the statutory alloy composition of the 5-cent coin.
Requires that the 5-cent coin be: (1) produced primarily of steel, and (2) treated to impart a color so that its appearance is similar to 5-cent coins produced before enactment of this Act.
Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury, in minting 5-cent coins, to use only steel produced in the United States unless: (1) the Secretary determines doing so would be inconsistent with the public interest, or (2) steel is not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities.
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Prohibits the Secretary, in setting specifications for such coin, from: (1) requiring more than one change to coin-accepting and coin-handling equipment to accommodate coins produced pursuant to this Act; (2) facilitating or allowing the use of a coin with a lesser value produced by another country, or the use of any token or other easily or regularly produced metal device of minimal value, in the place of a circulating coin produced by the Secretary; or (3) requiring changes to coin-accepting or coin-handling equipment to accommodate both coins produced with the new specifications and coins produced on or before a specified date.
Directs the Secretary to submit to certain congressional committees the initial report concerning production costs and technologies required by the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010.
People & committees
Rep. Stivers, Steve [R-OH-15] · R–OH
Legislative record
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Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology.
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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