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Requires that every $20 Federal Reserve note printed after December 31, 2030, bear the likeness of Harriet Tubman. The Treasury Secretary may delay that printing date by up to two years only after consulting designated officials and submitting a written determination to two congressional committees that issuing on the original date would create unacceptable risks. The change applies to new notes printed after the effective date (or any permitted delay); existing $20 notes remain legal tender. The law directs a design change and sets a narrow, documented process for any short postponement.
The Secretary of the Treasury must ensure that the face of all $20 Federal reserve notes printed after December 31, 2030, bear the likeness of Harriet Tubman.
The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to delay the December 31, 2030 date by not more than 2 years if the Secretary submits a determination to two Congressional committees that issuing the notes after December 31, 2030 would create an unacceptable risk of counterfeiting or to the safe, secure, and speedy functioning of the United States economy.
Before submitting the determination to Congress (to justify a delay), the Secretary must make that determination after consultation with the Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Board, and the Director of the United States Secret Service.
Who is affected and how:
Federal agencies: The Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing must incorporate a new design into the $20 production process and coordinate with the Federal Reserve on printing schedules and inventory. They will handle technical, logistical, and communications work needed to implement the change. If the Secretary invokes a delay, the law requires consulting designated officials and providing a written determination to two congressional committees, adding process and documentation obligations.
Banks and cash-handling businesses: Banks, armored carriers, retailers, ATMs, and other cash-dependent businesses will eventually receive and circulate $20 notes with a new portrait. They may need minor operational adjustments (e.g., training, counterfeiting detection calibration, ATM sensor/firmware checks) though such updates are typically routine when denominations are redesigned.
General public and consumers: All cash users will receive $20 notes bearing Harriet Tubman once newly printed notes enter circulation. Existing $20 bills remain valid, so there is no immediate need for consumers to exchange notes.
Collectors and numismatists: Currency collectors and dealers will note the design change; new-issue and transitional notes may attract collector interest and market premiums.
Fiscal impact: The provision itself does not appropriate funds. Implementation costs (design, production scheduling, public communications) are expected to be absorbed within routine Treasury/Federal Reserve operations unless additional appropriations or extraordinary production changes are required.
Overall effect: The legislation is principally symbolic and administrative—it mandates a portrait change for a specific denomination, sets a firm timeline with a limited statutory delay option, and delegates implementation to existing currency-production agencies. Operational impacts are mostly logistical and administrative rather than programmatic or budgetary.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Introduced March 10, 2025 by Jeanne Shaheen · Last progress March 10, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Introduced in Senate