[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2861 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.2861
One Hundred Eighteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty four
An Act
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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Billie Jean King Congressional Gold
Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. 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 of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et
seq.), 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 US 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 highest civilian honor in the United States, 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 people in the United States. 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. 3. 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 United States and her courageous
and groundbreaking leadership advancing equal rights for women in
athletics, education, and our society.
(b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation
described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to
in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the
Secretary. The design shall bear an image of, and inscription of the
name of, Billie Jean King.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck pursuant to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the
costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of
machinery, and overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--Medals struck under this Act are national
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 and section
5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act
shall be considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck
under this Act.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.