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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 24, 2021 08:30 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Darisha K. Parker |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Urging United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to place Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill |
| In 2015, the United States Treasury Department announced a plan to place a woman on a currency note during a redesign process of the $20, $10, and $5 bills, and asked for Americans to share their opinions on the matter. Over one million people weighed in and hundreds of suggestions were made to then-Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew. Along with the decision to honor both the civil rights and women’s suffrage movements through depictions on the back of both the $10 and $5 bills, Harriet Tubman was chosen to appear on the front of the redesigned $20 bill, which was to be introduced in circulation in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote. As many of us know, Harriet Tubman was an American heroine who, after freeing herself from slavery, assisted hundreds of other slaves by helping them escape and leading them to the safety of the northern states through the Underground Railroad. Once the Civil War began, she continued her fight by working for the Union Army as a cook, nurse, scout and spy and, once the war was over, she again persisted and became a leader in the women’s suffrage movement. The American people were correct in their decision – it is only fitting to honor this exceptional, brave individual by placing her picture on a currency note. The former United States Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, announced a delay in the plan to make this happen citing the development of public security measures. According to the experts, the delay appeared to be arbitrary and unnecessary. With that said, please join me in sponsoring this important legislation urging the current United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, along with President Joseph Biden and the United States Congress, to continue without delay the original plan to place Harriet Tubman on the redesigned $20 bill. |
Introduced as HR87