Senator Collins’ Statement Following Treasury Department’s Announcement that Women Leaders Will be Featured on $10 and $20 Bills
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins released this statement following an announcement by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew that leaders of the women’s suffrage movement will be featured on the back of the $10 bill and that Harriet Tubman will replace former President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill:
“Women have played a critical role in the social, cultural, economic, and political life of our country since its founding and continue to shape American society for the better today. I support the Treasury Department’s decision to honor the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement and Harriet Tubman by featuring them on our nation’s currency, without stripping Alexander Hamilton of his appropriate place on the $10 bill.
“Members of the women’s suffrage movement worked against fierce opposition for decades to provide women with full citizenship. In 1920, their efforts culminated with the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which secured women’s right to vote.
“Harriet Tubman’s heroism as a leading abolitionist is similarly deserving of this honor by featuring her on the $20 bill. Mrs. Tubman escaped slavery but returned to the South many times, helping hundreds of slaves escape to freedom.
“I am so pleased that the Treasury Department has chosen to honor these notable women, while preserving our nation’s first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, on the face of the $10 bill.”
In July 2015, Senator Collins sent a letter to Secretary Lew, urging him to select a portrait of Maine’s legendary former Senator Margaret Chase Smith for the $20 bill and to preserve Alexander Hamilton’s place on the $10 bill.
