BEATTY CALLS ON TREASURY SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT TO PLACE HARRIET TUBMAN ON THE $20 BILL

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) and Congressman John W. Mannion (NY-22) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling on the Department to resume the effort to place Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.  

The bipartisan campaign to place Tubman on U.S. currency began in 2015. Last month, Secretary Bessent said that the Department was not presently planning to move forward with the plan. Congresswoman Beatty, joined by Congressman Mannion, demanded an immediate resumption of the effort and a transparent timeline of the project.  

As a Member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee, Congresswoman Beatty continues to be the leading voice in the House of Representatives calling for Tubman to be portrayed on the $20 bill. She is the lead sponsor of the Woman on the Twenty Act and over the last decade has questioned Treasury Secretaries Steven Mnuchin, Janet Yellen, and most recently Scott Bessent on the Department’s progress on the project – demanding transparency, accountability, and the fulfillment of a promise made to the American people long ago.

“[Y]our recent public statements that the Department is not presently moving forward with the redesign have once again left our constituents and Americans across the country confused and disappointed by the Department’s failure to follow through on this long-awaited effort,” said Beatty and Mannion in the letter. “While we understand the need for an extended timeline to rollout a new paper currency and implement and ensure anti-counterfeiting measures, that does not excuse the complete lack of transparency surrounding the project status, nor the apparent indefinite suspension of the entire initiative. This silence is especially frustrating given the Department’s sudden and seemingly expedited plans for several commemorative coins depicting President Donald Trump and an unconstitutional effort to issue a new $250 paper currency featuring the President.”

“Given the Department’s current focus on developing new currency notes, we urge you to first resume and then implement the now long-overdue effort to portray Harriet Tubman on the twenty-dollar bill. Furthermore, in the interest of transparency for the American people, we ask for a detailed update on the current status of the project and a clear response as to whether the effort has been delayed or permanently discontinued.”

The full letter can be found  HERE.

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