[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 80 (Wednesday, May 8, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3627-S3628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BILLIE JEAN KING CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from
further consideration and the Senate proceed to the immediate
consideration of S. 2861.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 2861) 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.
There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read
a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made
and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 2861) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading,
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 2861
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
[[Page S3628]]
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.
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