Sponsors
The bill guarantees Harriet Tubman on future $20 notes with oversight and a contingency delay to protect security, while imposing transition costs on taxpayers and businesses and creating potential short-term pressure on secure printing timelines.
All Americans will receive $20 notes printed after Dec 31, 2030 that bear Harriet Tubman's likeness, changing everyday currency and recognizing a historic American figure.
The Treasury can delay the new-note rollout up to two years if printing would create counterfeit or economic risks, giving agencies a formal mechanism to avoid security problems.
The bill requires interagency consultation and reporting to congressional banking committees, increasing transparency and congressional oversight of the redesign and timing.
Taxpayers may face additional costs for redesign and production if new equipment or transition expenses are required to print the redesigned $20.
A statutory deadline could pressure agencies to rush secure printing processes, increasing short-term counterfeit or security risk unless the delay authority is exercised.
Retailers, banks, and other businesses will incur costs to update signage, cashier training, and counterfeit-detection procedures during the transition to the new design.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 10, 2025 by Jeanne Shaheen · Last progress March 10, 2025
Requires every $20 Federal Reserve note printed after December 31, 2030 to bear the likeness of Harriet Tubman. The Secretary of the Treasury may delay that deadline by up to two years (to no later than December 31, 2032) only after submitting a written determination to the House and Senate financial committees that, following consultation with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Secret Service, issuing the redesigned notes as scheduled would pose an unacceptable counterfeiting risk or threaten the safe, secure, and speedy functioning of the U.S. economy. This change applies to newly printed $20 notes after the specified date; the law directs a specific redesign timeline and sets a narrow, consultative process for any limited delay. The bill does not authorize new spending or create additional programs beyond the redesign requirement and the delay certification process.