Billie Jean King Congressional Gold Medal Act

[118th Congress Public Law 88]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

[[Page 1553]]

              BILLIE JEAN KING CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT

[[Page 138 STAT. 1554]]

Public Law 118-88
118th Congress

                                 An Act

  To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Billie Jean King, an American
 icon, in recognition of a remarkable life devoted to championing equal
rights for all, in sports and in society. <<NOTE: Sept. 26, 2024 -  [S.
                                2861]>>

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Billie Jean King
Congressional Gold Medal Act. 31 USC 5111 note.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Billie Jean King Congressional Gold
Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Billie Jean King, born Billie Jean Moffitt on November
        22, 1943, in Long Beach, California, demonstrated athletic
        prowess from a young age. She was introduced to tennis at the
        age of 11, and soon after, Billie Jean purchased her first
        tennis racket using money she earned working various jobs in her
        neighborhood.
            (2) Billie Jean broke numerous barriers to become a number
        one professional tennis player. She dominated women's tennis
        with 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles,
        including a record 20 championships at Wimbledon. She also was a
        member of 3 World TeamTennis championship teams.
            (3) After growing in prominence, Billie Jean used her
        platform as a celebrity to fight for equal rights and
        opportunities for equality for all in sports, and society, in
        the United States.
            (4) Billie Jean played an instrumental role in the passage
        of title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (20 U.S.C.
        1681 et seq.), a law that mandates equal funding for women's and
        men's sports programs in schools and colleges. This legislation
        has unlocked a world of opportunities for girls and women in
        education and sports.
            (5) During Billie Jean's career, the pay difference between
        prize money for men and women in tennis continued to expand. By
        the early 1970s, the pay gap in prize money reached ratios of as
        much as 12 to 1. Fewer and fewer tournaments were hosting
        women's events. Billie Jean harnessed the energy of the women's
        rights movement to create a women's tennis tour that would
        elevate women's tennis and establish pay equity within the
        sport. Along with 8 other women tennis players, she formed an
        independent women's professional tennis circuit, the Virginia
        Slims Series.

[[Page 138 STAT. 1555]]

            (6) In 1973, Billie Jean founded the Women's Tennis
        Association, today's principal governing body for women's
        professional tennis.
            (7) Billie Jean helped found womenSports magazine and
        founded the Women's Sports Foundation. Both have been at the
        forefront of advancing women's voice in sports.
            (8) Billie Jean successfully lobbied for equal prize money
        for men and women at the 1973 US Open Tennis Championships. It
        would take another 34 years for the other 3 major tournaments to
        all offer equal prize money.
            (9) In 1973, Billie Jean played a tennis match against Bobby
        Riggs, a former World Number 1 player who sought to undermine
        the credibility and prominence of women in sports. Billie Jean
        defeated Riggs in what became a firm declaration of women's role
        in sports and society.
            (10) Billie Jean King was the first tennis player and woman
        to be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year, one
        of the ``100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century'' by
        LIFE magazine, was the recipient of the 1999 Arthur Ashe Award
        for Courage, and has been admitted to the International Women's
        Sports Hall of Fame, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and
        the National Women's Hall of Fame.
            (11) In 2006, the United States Tennis Association
        recognized Billie Jean's immeasurable impact on the sport of
        tennis by renaming the site of the US Open in her honor as the
        USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which is located
        in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York. This was
        the first time a major sporting complex was named after a woman.
            (12) In 2009, Billie Jean was awarded the Presidential Medal
        of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, by
        President Barack Obama for her impactful work advocating for the
        rights of women. She was the first female athlete to receive
        this honor.
            (13) In 2014, Billie Jean King founded the Billie Jean King
        Leadership Initiative to empower companies and individuals to
        create inclusive work environments that celebrate and promote
        diversity and equality in the workplace.
            (14) In 2020, Fed Cup, the world cup of women's tennis, was
        renamed the Billie Jean King Cup, making it the first global
        team competition to be named after a woman.
            (15) Billie Jean King's extraordinary courage, leadership,
        and activism helped propel the women's movement forward, and
        open doors for countless people in the United States. On and off
        the court, Billie Jean has served as an inspiration to millions
        of people the world over. Few women and men have had a greater
        impact on their sport and on our society than Billie Jean King.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make
appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of
a gold medal of appropriate design to Billie Jean King, in recognition
of her contribution to the United States and her courageous and
groundbreaking leadership advancing equal rights for women in athletics,
education, and our society.

[[Page 138 STAT. 1556]]

    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation described
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable
emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.
The design shall bear an image of, and inscription of the name of,
Billie Jean King.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck pursuant to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the
costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery,
and overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--Medals struck under this Act are national
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 and section 5136
of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall
be considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck
under this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

    Approved September 26, 2024.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 2861:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 170 (2024):
            May 8, considered and passed Senate.
            Sept. 17, considered and passed Senate.

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