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    Saturday, May 04, 2024

    Blumenthal wants women on more currency

    U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced Sunday that he plans to call for a woman to not just appear on one piece of the nation’s paper currency before 2020 but to be depicted on more than one bill.

    In his press release, Blumenthal said that at 10:30 a.m. today in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford he will join officials from the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, Girl Scouts and elected female officials to call “for a broad federal review of the role of women on currency.”

    In June, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced that the redesigned $10 bill will feature “a woman champion of democracy” marking the first time a woman has appeared on a U.S. note. The Treasury Department is seeking input from the public about who should appear on the bill. Suggestions can be sent directly to the Treasury Department using the hashtag #TheNew10.

    Susan B. Anthony, who played an important role in the women’s suffrage and anti-slavery efforts, and Sacagawea, the native American guide for the Lewis & Clark expedition, have appeared on recent U.S. dollar coins.

    The bill is slated to be unveiled in 2020 — the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment which guaranteed the women the right to vote.

    “Women on our currency is long overdue — not merely on one bill like the $10 but on the $20 and others. Immense and enduring contributions made by women to our nation deserve this recognition — rightly and right now. I hope girls and women will be convened to play a key role in this broader conversation, so they have a say in the choices. From Eleanor Roosevelt and Harriet Tubman to Abigail Adams and Rosa Parks, there are countless women who should be recognized on our currency, and we should not have to choose just one,” said Blumenthal, who is supporting efforts by Sen Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, to include women on paper currency.

    Last week, Blumenthal said met with Connecticut Girl Scouts who gave him “thoughtful and passionate” suggestions including Roosevelt, Adams, Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to get a degree in medicine, and Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low.

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