SHAHEEN REACTS TO LEW ANNOUNCEMENT: WOMAN ON THE $10 IS HISTORIC & BIG STEP FORWARD

(Washington, DC) – The author of the Women on the Twenty Act, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), made the following statement after Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced that the U.S. Department of the Treasury will begin the process for putting a woman on the ten dollar bill. The Treasury Department, with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, expects to unveil the new ten dollar note in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

“Today, those voices all across the country calling for the contributions of women to be honored on our paper currency, were heard and now change is happening,” said Shaheen. “This announcement follows a tremendous grassroots movement that spread through the power of social media and good old fashioned word-of-mouth. While it might not be the twenty dollar bill, make no mistake, this is a historic announcement and a big step forward. Young girls across this country will soon be able to see an inspiring woman on the ten dollar bill who helped shape our country into what it is today and know that they too can grow up and do something great for their country. I want to congratulate the Women on the Twenty effort and encourage all who participated to continue making your voices heard as this process to redesign the ten dollar bill gets underway.”

In April, Senator Shaheen introduced the Women on the Twenty Act which would begin the process for putting a woman on the twenty dollar bill.  Earlier this month, Senator Shaheen wrote a letter to President Obama that recognized it was within the Administration’s authority to begin the process of putting a women on the twenty dollar bill and urged him to do so.  The call for action follows a nationwide grassroots movement led by the group, Women on 20s, which held an online poll that gathered over 600,000 votes and selected Harriet Tubman as the top choice.