Dear Secretary Lew: Women Deserve to Be on the $20 Bill

Dear Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew,

After the establishment of Women's Equality Day in 1972, the late Democratic Congresswoman from New York Bella Abzug, a pioneer in broadening legal, economic and political rights for women, said, "Women from all across the Nation look forward to the time when they will be recognized as citizens who are fully equal to men in both responsibility and privileges."

As we reflect upon the 95 years since the 19th Amendment was certified -- giving women the right to vote -- we are reminded that our nation has come a long way, but there is still more to be done when it comes to gender equality.

Congresswoman Abzug helped bridge this gap by showing that our country succeeds when women succeed and fundamentally changed women's abilities to open their own businesses through authoring the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974. This bill made it illegal to discriminate against women seeking to obtain credit, loans, and mortgages for the first time.

We have seen this progress continue to grow under President Obama's leadership and Congressional action, from the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to provide women basic protections against pay discrimination and the Affordable Care Act, which allowed more women access to quality, affordable health insurance, preventative care options, and ensured that insurance companies can no longer charge higher rates to women simply because of their gender.

Despite the long march toward equality for all, our nation's paper currency currently does not recognize women's contributions to shaping our past. That is why, on this civil rights milestone, we write to applaud your announcement that a notable woman will be featured on United States currency to honor her contributions to our democracy. However, we, along with 62 of our colleagues , want to ensure we get that message right. When a message as small as a tweet can impact the national news cycle, we remain concerned that in the wake of this announcement dozens of news outlets across the political spectrum , historians and former public officials have raised skepticism of the message that the woman chosen will not be featured on our more heavily circulated currency and might have to be featured alongside Alexander Hamilton.

Further, it is a disappointing message that Alexander Hamilton, one of the most influential interpreters of the U.S. Constitution, a passionate advocate for the abolition of slavery, and the founder of the nation's financial system, will be removed from our currency while President Andrew Jackson, a slaveholder responsible for the Trail of Tears, fierce opponent of the central banking system, and paper currency, retains his place on the $20 bill.

We understand that in 2013 the Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence Steering Committee recommended the redesign of the ten dollar bill because of counterfeiting concerns and the desired inclusion of tactile elements to aid sight-impaired individuals. However, if counterfeiting is a primary concern behind the redesign, then it is curious that the $10 bill was chosen.

The $20 bill was redesigned in 2003 and has 8.1 billion notes in circulation. In contrast, the $10 bill was redesigned in 2006 and has only 1.9 billion notes in circulation. Furthermore, a Reuter's article in 2013 reported that U.S. officials identified the $20 bill as the most frequently counterfeited note in the U.S.

Additionally, we strongly support efforts to ensure that people who are blind or visually impaired can easily identify U.S. paper currency without the assistance of another person or device. For this reason, we believe that the $20 bill would be more appropriate for implementing the new tactile features given that it is the more widely circulated note. According to a 2009 report prepared for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the $20 bill is used more frequently by the visually impaired than the $10 bill.

During a time when women in our country do not receive equal pay for equal work , are not guaranteed paid maternity leave or can even name a female U.S. president , the simple decision to add a woman to our paper currency can be an important step forward for our country. On Women's Equality Day, we write to echo the hundreds of thousands of grassroots activists who supported the Women On 20s campaign , which served as a catalyst for the decision to feature a notable woman on U.S. currency. As a result, we reiterate our deep concern with the effort to remove Alexander Hamilton from the $10 bill while continuing to feature President Jackson on the $20 bill

As we continue making progress for the cause of women's rights, we hope to work with you to preserve Alexander Hamilton's place on our currency while elevating a woman to a place she deserves.

Respectfully,

Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Member of Congress

Stacey Plaskett
Member of Congress