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 LGBTQ community in athletics, education, and our society.

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6944 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 LGBTQ community in athletics, education, and our society. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 19, 2020 Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. CORREA, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. COSTA, Mr. COX of California, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. VARGAS, and Ms. JAYAPAL) 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, in recognition of her contribution to the Nation and her courageous and groundbreaking leadership advancing equal rights for women and the LGBTQ community in athletics, education, and our society. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jun 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6944.IH H6944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6944 IH (1) Billie Jean King, born Billie Jean Moffit, 1 on November 22, 1943, in Long Beach, California, 2 was the first child of Betty (ne´e Jerman) and Bill 3 Moffitt. 4 (2) Billie Jean demonstrated athletic prowess 5 from a young age. She was introduced to tennis at 6 the age of 11, and soon after, Billie Jean purchased 7 her first tennis racket using money she earned work- 8 ing various jobs in her neighborhood. 9 (3) After becoming involved with tennis, Billie 10 Jean observed inequities within the sport and real- 11 ized she could use tennis as a platform—if she be- 12 came number one. From then on, Billie Jean was 13 determined to become a top athlete in her sport. 14 (4) Billie Jean broke numerous barriers to be- 15 come a number one professional tennis player. She 16 dominated women’s tennis with 39 Grand Slam sin- 17 gles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles, including a 18 record 20 championships at Wimbledon. She also 19 was a member of three World TeamTennis cham- 20 pionship teams. 21 (5) After growing in prominence, Billie Jean 22 used her platform as a celebrity to fight for equal 23 rights and opportunities for equality for all genders 24 in sports—and society—in the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jun 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6944.IH H6944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6944 IH (6) Billie Jean played an instrumental role in 1 the passage of Title IX, a law that mandates equal 2 funding for women’s and men’s sports programs in 3 schools and colleges. This legislation has unlocked a 4 world of opportunities for girls and women in edu- 5 cation and sports. 6 (7) During Billie Jean’s career, the pay dif- 7 ference between prize money for men and women in 8 tennis continued to expand. By the early 1970s, the 9 pay gap in prize money reached ratios of as much 10 as 12 to one. Fewer and fewer tournaments were 11 hosting women’s events. Realizing that she would 12 not have support from mainstream tennis organiza- 13 tions, Billie Jean harnessed the energy of the wom- 14 en’s rights movement to create a women’s tennis 15 tour that would elevate women’s tennis and establish 16 pay equity within the sport. Along with eight other 17 women tennis players, Billie Jean risked it all and 18 formed an independent women’s professional tennis 19 circuit, the Virginia Slims Tournament, and a play- 20 er’s union that would help achieve greater equality 21 in prize money and recognition for women in sports. 22 (8) In 1971, Billie Jean became the first 23 woman in sports history to make $100,000 in earn- 24 ings in a single year. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jun 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6944.IH H6944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6944 IH (9) In 1972, Billie Jean was also the first ten- 1 nis player to be named Sports Illustrated’s Sports- 2 person of the Year and the first woman to receive 3 the honor. 4 (10) Billie Jean founded the Women’s Tennis 5 Association, a successor to the Virginia Slims Series, 6 and today’s principal governing body for women’s 7 professional tennis. 8 (11) Billie Jean helped found womenSports 9 magazine and founded the Women’s Sports Founda- 10 tion. Both have been at the forefront of advancing 11 women’s voice in sports. 12 (12) In 1973, Billie Jean played a tennis match 13 against Bobby Riggs, a top-ranked player through 14 the 1940s who sought to undermine the credibility 15 and prominence of women in sports. Billie Jean de- 16 feated Riggs in what became a firm declaration of 17 women’s role in sports and society. 18 (13) Billie Jean was one of the first women 19 athletes to identify as lesbian, and has courageously 20 challenged negative stereotypes and championed the 21 visibility and inclusion of the LGBTQ community. 22 (14) Billie Jean King was named one of the 23 ‘‘100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Cen- 24 tury’’ by LIFE magazine. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jun 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6944.IH H6944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6944 IH (15) Billie Jean King is the recipient of the 1 1999 Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. 2 (16) Billie Jean’s excellence has earned her 3 place in the International Women’s Sports Hall of 4 Fame, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and 5 the National Women’s Hall of Fame. 6 (17) In 2006, the United States Tennis Asso- 7 ciation recognized Billie Jean’s immeasurable impact 8 on the sport of tennis by renaming the site of the 9 US Open in her honor as the USTA Billie Jean 10 King National Tennis Center, which is located in 11 Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New 12 York. This was the first time a major sporting com- 13 plex was named after a woman. 14 (18) Billie Jean King has received honorary de- 15 grees from colleges and universities across the Na- 16 tion, including the University of Pennsylvania, Dart- 17 mouth College, the University of Massachusetts Am- 18 herst, and Northwestern University, amongst others. 19 (19) Billie Jean’s commitment and tireless ad- 20 vocacy to expand women’s tennis, created ground- 21 breaking opportunities, financial and otherwise, for 22 women not only in tennis but across women’s sports. 23 She has paved the way for others, including today’s 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jun 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6944.IH H6944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6944 IH famed tennis champion duo, sisters Venus and 1 Serena Williams. 2 (20) Billie Jean believes in changing hearts and 3 minds, and through her talent, tenacity, and advo- 4 cacy she changed how women are perceived world- 5 wide. 6 (21) In 2009, Billie Jean was awarded the 7 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest 8 civilian honor, by President Barack Obama for her 9 impactful work advocating for the rights of women 10 and the LGBTQ community. She was the first fe- 11 male athlete to receive this honor. 12 (22) In 2014, Billie Jean King founded an in- 13 clusive leadership non-profit organization to promote 14 and transform equality in the workplace worldwide. 15 The Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative aims to 16 empower companies and individuals to create inclu- 17 sive work environments that celebrate and promote 18 diversity to increase representation, maximize our ef- 19 ficiency, and tap into the unlimited potential of tal- 20 ent in our world. 21 (23) Billie Jean King’s extraordinary courage, 22 leadership, and activism helped propel the women’s 23 movement forward, and open doors for countless 24 Americans regardless of gender, race, class or sexual 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jun 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6944.IH H6944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6944 IH orientation. On and off the court, Billie Jean has 1 served as an inspiration to millions of people the 2 world over. Few women and men have had a greater 3 impact on their sport and on our society than Billie 4 Jean King. 5 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 6 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 7 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 8 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 9 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 10 medal of appropriate design, to Billie Jean King, in rec- 11 ognition of her contribution to the Nation and her coura- 12 geous and groundbreaking leadership advancing equal 13 rights for women and the LGBTQ community in athletics, 14 education, and our society. 15 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 16 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 17 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 18 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em- 19 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 20 Secretary. 21 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 22 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre- 23 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 24 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 at 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jun 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6944.IH H6944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6944 IH a price sufficient to cover the cost of the bronze medals 1 (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 2 overhead expenses) and the cost of the gold medal. 3 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 4 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 5 for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jun 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6944.IH H6944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS