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.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1831 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1831

 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 28, 2023

  Mr. Fitzpatrick (for himself, Ms. Sherrill, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Robert 
 Garcia of California, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Correa, Mr. Mike Garcia of 
 California, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mrs. Kim of California, Ms. 
    Velazquez, Mrs. Steel, Ms. Meng, Mr. Carter of Georgia, and Mr. 
 Gottheimer) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 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. 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, 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 U.S. 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 Nation's highest civilian honor, 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 Americans. 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 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).

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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