[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 341 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 341

    Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that it is 
   important to maintain cash as a robust and viable payment option.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 28, 2023

Mr. Rose (for himself, Mr. Payne, Mr. Davidson, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
Mr. Posey, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Mooney, Mr. Torres of New York, 
  Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Soto, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. 
  Watson Coleman, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Carson, Mr. Davis of 
  Illinois, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Bush, Mr. 
   Norcross, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Mfume, and Mr. Grijalva) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that it is 
   important to maintain cash as a robust and viable payment option.

Whereas it is declared in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code, that 
        ``United States coins and currency . . . are legal tender for all debts, 
        public charges, taxes, and dues'';
Whereas the following legend, accordingly, is inscribed on the face of all 
        circulating notes issued by the United States Treasury: ``THIS NOTE IS 
        LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE'';
Whereas growing numbers of businesses refuse to accept cash offered in payment 
        by their customers across the United States;
Whereas being able to pay with cash is of particular importance to those 
        consumers who value their privacy and the security of their financial 
        information, and who also prefer to pay with cash because doing so is 
        simple, straightforward, fiscally responsible, and, for those who 
        prefer, completely anonymous;
Whereas requiring customers to exclusively use noncash payment methods 
        needlessly puts at risk their confidential personal financial 
        information;
Whereas the widespread collection, sale, and resale of such data and information 
        can expose consumers' financial information to the risk of data breaches 
        that can result in identity theft, fraud, and other wrongful conduct 
        that, every year, cause millions of dollars in losses to consumers as 
        well as to retailers, processors, networks, and other intermediaries;
Whereas, according to data published by the Federal Deposit Insurance 
        Corporation (FDIC), nearly 1 in 5--18.6 percent--of United States 
        households have no regular access to forms of payment other than cash;
Whereas the FDIC has reported that in 2021, approximately 5,900,000 households 
        were unbanked;
Whereas unbanked rates were higher among lower income households, less-educated 
        households, Black households, Hispanic households, working-age 
        households with a disability, and single-mother households; and
Whereas Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before the House Financial 
        Services Committee on March 8, 2023, that cash is ``absolutely critical 
        because there are people who don't have credit cards'' and that ``when 
        stores are not dealing with people who don't have credit cards, it's a 
        serious problem'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
it is important to maintain cash as a robust and viable payment option.
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