[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5001 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5001
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Billie Jean King, in recognition
of her contribution to the Nation and her courageous and groundbreaking
leadership advancing equal rights for women and the LGBT community in
athletics, education, and our society.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 13, 2018
Mr. Crowley (for himself and Mr. Lowenthal) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
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A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Billie Jean King, in recognition
of her contribution to the Nation and her courageous and groundbreaking
leadership advancing equal rights for women and the LGBT community in
athletics, education, and our society.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Billie Jean King, born Billie Jean Moffit, on November
22, 1943, in Long Beach, California, was the first child of
Betty (nee Jerman) and Bill Moffitt.
(2) Billie Jean 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.
(3) After becoming involved with tennis, Billie Jean
observed inequities within the sport and realized she could use
tennis as a platform--if she became number one. From then on,
Billie Jean was determined to become a top athlete in her
sport.
(4) 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 three World TeamTennis championship teams.
(5) After growing in prominence, Billie Jean used her
platform as a celebrity to fight for equal rights and
opportunities for equality for all genders in sports--and
society--in the United States.
(6) Billie Jean played an instrumental role in the passage
of Title IX, 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.
(7) 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 one. Fewer and fewer tournaments were hosting
women's events. Realizing that she would not have support from
mainstream tennis organizations, 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 eight other women tennis
players, Billie Jean risked it all and formed an independent
women's professional tennis circuit, the Virginia Slims
Tournament, and a player's union that would help achieve
greater equality in prize money and recognition for women in
sports.
(8) In 1971, Billie Jean became the first woman in sports
history to make $100,000 in earnings in a single year.
(9) In 1972, Billie Jean was also the first tennis player
to be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year and
the first woman to receive the honor.
(10) Billie Jean founded the Women's Tennis Association, a
successor to the Virginia Slims Series, and today's principal
governing body for women's professional tennis.
(11) 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.
(12) In 1973, Billie Jean played a tennis match against
Bobby Riggs, a top-ranked player through the 1940s 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.
(13) Billie Jean was one of the first women athletes to
identify as lesbian, and has courageously challenged negative
stereotypes and championed the visibility and inclusion of the
LGBT community.
(14) Billie Jean King was named one of the ``100 Most
Important Americans of the 20th Century'' by LIFE magazine.
(15) Billie Jean King is the recipient of the 1999 Arthur
Ashe Award for Courage.
(16) Billie Jean's excellence has earned her place in the
International Women's Sports Hall of Fame, the International
Tennis Hall of Fame, and the National Women's Hall of Fame.
(17) 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.
(18) Billie Jean King has received honorary degrees from
colleges and universities across the Nation, including the
University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, the University
of Massachusetts Amherst, and Northwestern University, amongst
others.
(19) Billie Jean's commitment and tireless advocacy to
expand women's tennis, created groundbreaking opportunities,
financial and otherwise, for women not only in tennis but
across women's sports. She has paved the way for others,
including today's famed tennis champion duo, sisters Venus and
Serena Williams.
(20) Billie Jean believes in changing hearts and minds, and
through her talent, tenacity, and advocacy she changed how
women are perceived worldwide.
(21) In 2009, Billie Jean was awarded the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civilian honor, by
President Barack Obama for her impactful work advocating for
the rights of women and the LGBT community. She was the first
female athlete to receive this honor.
(22) In 2014, Billie Jean King founded an inclusive
leadership non-profit organization to promote and transform
equality in the workplace worldwide. The Billie Jean King
Leadership Initiative aims to empower companies and individuals
to create inclusive work environments that celebrate and
promote diversity to increase representation, maximize our
efficiency, and tap into the unlimited potential of talent in
our world.
(23) Billie Jean King's extraordinary courage, leadership,
and activism helped propel the women's movement forward, and
open doors for countless Americans regardless of gender, race,
class or sexual orientation. 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. 2. 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 Nation and her courageous and
groundbreaking leadership advancing equal rights for women and the LGBT
community in athletics, education, and our society.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the presentation
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury
(hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike
a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be
determined by the Secretary.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal
struck pursuant to section 2 at a price sufficient to cover the cost of
the bronze medals (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery,
and overhead expenses) and the cost of the gold medal.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.
The medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
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