Due to the monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve, calls for a return to the gold standard have returned. Some states have chosen to use a loophole in the Federal Reserve Act that gives individual states the right to issue currencies of gold or silver coins or rounds. This was done because the Federal Reserve Act does not allow them to print their own currency if they wished. As of January 2012, Utah allowed the payment of debt to be settled in silver and gold, and the value of the American silver or gold rounds used was pegged to the price of the given precious metal. Payment in some cases can be requested to be made in silver or gold rounds. As of 2011, eleven other U.S. states were exploring their options to possibly make similar changes like Utah.