[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2861 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.2861

                     One Hundred Eighteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
         the third day of January, two thousand and twenty four


                                 An Act


 
  To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Billie Jean King, an American 
 icon, in recognition of a remarkable life devoted to championing equal 
                rights for all, in sports and in society.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Billie Jean King Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds the following:
        (1) Billie Jean King, born Billie Jean Moffitt on November 22, 
    1943, in Long Beach, California, demonstrated athletic prowess from 
    a young age. She was introduced to tennis at the age of 11, and 
    soon after, Billie Jean purchased her first tennis racket using 
    money she earned working various jobs in her neighborhood.
        (2) Billie Jean broke numerous barriers to become a number one 
    professional tennis player. She dominated women's tennis with 39 
    Grand Slam singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles, including a 
    record 20 championships at Wimbledon. She also was a member of 3 
    World TeamTennis championship teams.
        (3) After growing in prominence, Billie Jean used her platform 
    as a celebrity to fight for equal rights and opportunities for 
    equality for all in sports, and society, in the United States.
        (4) Billie Jean played an instrumental role in the passage of 
    title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 
    seq.), a law that mandates equal funding for women's and men's 
    sports programs in schools and colleges. This legislation has 
    unlocked a world of opportunities for girls and women in education 
    and sports.
        (5) During Billie Jean's career, the pay difference between 
    prize money for men and women in tennis continued to expand. By the 
    early 1970s, the pay gap in prize money reached ratios of as much 
    as 12 to 1. Fewer and fewer tournaments were hosting women's 
    events. Billie Jean harnessed the energy of the women's rights 
    movement to create a women's tennis tour that would elevate women's 
    tennis and establish pay equity within the sport. Along with 8 
    other women tennis players, she formed an independent women's 
    professional tennis circuit, the Virginia Slims Series.
        (6) In 1973, Billie Jean founded the Women's Tennis 
    Association, today's principal governing body for women's 
    professional tennis.
        (7) Billie Jean helped found womenSports magazine and founded 
    the Women's Sports Foundation. Both have been at the forefront of 
    advancing women's voice in sports.
        (8) Billie Jean successfully lobbied for equal prize money for 
    men and women at the 1973 US Open Tennis Championships. It would 
    take another 34 years for the other 3 major tournaments to all 
    offer equal prize money.
        (9) In 1973, Billie Jean played a tennis match against Bobby 
    Riggs, a former World Number 1 player who sought to undermine the 
    credibility and prominence of women in sports. Billie Jean defeated 
    Riggs in what became a firm declaration of women's role in sports 
    and society.
        (10) Billie Jean King was the first tennis player and woman to 
    be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year, one of the 
    ``100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century'' by LIFE 
    magazine, was the recipient of the 1999 Arthur Ashe Award for 
    Courage, and has been admitted to the International Women's Sports 
    Hall of Fame, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and the 
    National Women's Hall of Fame.
        (11) In 2006, the United States Tennis Association recognized 
    Billie Jean's immeasurable impact on the sport of tennis by 
    renaming the site of the US Open in her honor as the USTA Billie 
    Jean King National Tennis Center, which is located in Flushing 
    Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York. This was the first time a 
    major sporting complex was named after a woman.
        (12) In 2009, Billie Jean was awarded the Presidential Medal of 
    Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, by 
    President Barack Obama for her impactful work advocating for the 
    rights of women. She was the first female athlete to receive this 
    honor.
        (13) In 2014, Billie Jean King founded the Billie Jean King 
    Leadership Initiative to empower companies and individuals to 
    create inclusive work environments that celebrate and promote 
    diversity and equality in the workplace.
        (14) In 2020, Fed Cup, the world cup of women's tennis, was 
    renamed the Billie Jean King Cup, making it the first global team 
    competition to be named after a woman.
        (15) Billie Jean King's extraordinary courage, leadership, and 
    activism helped propel the women's movement forward, and open doors 
    for countless people in the United States. On and off the court, 
    Billie Jean has served as an inspiration to millions of people the 
    world over. Few women and men have had a greater impact on their 
    sport and on our society than Billie Jean King.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make 
appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, 
of a gold medal of appropriate design to Billie Jean King, in 
recognition of her contribution to the United States and her courageous 
and groundbreaking leadership advancing equal rights for women in 
athletics, education, and our society.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 
described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to 
in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with 
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 
Secretary. The design shall bear an image of, and inscription of the 
name of, Billie Jean King.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the 
costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, and overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
    (a) National Medals.--Medals struck under this Act are national 
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 and section 
5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act 
shall be considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
    (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such 
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck 
under this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.