S. 2861 

One Hundred Eighteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty four 

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. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

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. 
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(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. 
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(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. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.