The group pushing for the U.S. government to put a woman on the $20 bill to replace President Andrew Jackson just got a big boost in support. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said earlier this week that she is supporting the measure and has introduced legislation to change the $20 bill.
Last week, the group WomenOn20s narrowed its list of potential new faces for the $20 to Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation. They hope to get the $20 bill changed by 2020 to mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
“Our paper currency is an important part of our everyday lives and reflects our values, traditions and history as Americans,” Sheheen said in a statement on Wednesday. “It’s long overdue for that reflection to include the contributions of women. The incredible grassroots support for this idea shows that there’s strong support for a woman to be the new face of the twenty dollar bill.”
So, she has introduced the Women on the Twenty Act, which will ask the Secretary of the Treasury to create a panel of citizens to decide which woman should be put on the $20.
While this is the first time Women on 20s has received actual political support, President Barack Obama did say in July that he does support the idea of putting a woman on a dollar bill, notes the Washington Post. The president said he received a letter from a young girl, 9-year-old Sofia, who is now helping out the Women on 20s campaign.
Jackson has been on the $20 bill since 1928. Only the Treasury can decide to change the face on U.S. currency.
You can vote for your pick to replace Jackson right here.