I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5001 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Billie Jean King, in recognition 

of her contribution to the Nation and her courageous and groundbreaking 

leadership advancing equal rights for women and the LGBT community 

in athletics, education, and our society. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2018 

Mr. CROWLEY (for himself and Mr. LOWENTHAL) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Billie Jean King, 

in recognition of her contribution to the Nation and 

her courageous and groundbreaking leadership advancing 

equal rights for women and the LGBT community in 

athletics, education, and our society. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Billie Jean King, born Billie Jean Moffit, 

6 on November 22, 1943, in Long Beach, California, 


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1 was the first child of Betty (ne ́e Jerman) and Bill 

2 Moffitt. 

3 (2) Billie Jean demonstrated athletic prowess 

4 from a young age. She was introduced to tennis at 

5 the age of 11, and soon after, Billie Jean purchased 

6 her first tennis racket using money she earned work7 ing various jobs in her neighborhood. 

8 (3) After becoming involved with tennis, Billie 

9 Jean observed inequities within the sport and real10 ized she could use tennis as a platform—if she be11 came number one. From then on, Billie Jean was 

12 determined to become a top athlete in her sport. 

13 (4) Billie Jean broke numerous barriers to be14 come a number one professional tennis player. She 

15 dominated women’s tennis with 39 Grand Slam sin16 gles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles, including a 

17 record 20 championships at Wimbledon. She also 

18 was a member of three World TeamTennis cham19 pionship teams. 

20 (5) After growing in prominence, Billie Jean 

21 used her platform as a celebrity to fight for equal 

22 rights and opportunities for equality for all genders 

23 in sports—and society—in the United States. 

24 (6) Billie Jean played an instrumental role in 

25 the passage of Title IX, a law that mandates equal 


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1 funding for women’s and men’s sports programs in 

2 schools and colleges. This legislation has unlocked a 

3 world of opportunities for girls and women in edu4 cation and sports. 

5 (7) During Billie Jean’s career, the pay dif6 ference between prize money for men and women in 

7 tennis continued to expand. By the early 1970s, the 

8 pay gap in prize money reached ratios of as much 

9 as 12 to one. Fewer and fewer tournaments were 

10 hosting women’s events. Realizing that she would 

11 not have support from mainstream tennis organiza12 tions, Billie Jean harnessed the energy of the wom13 en’s rights movement to create a women’s tennis 

14 tour that would elevate women’s tennis and establish 

15 pay equity within the sport. Along with eight other 

16 women tennis players, Billie Jean risked it all and 

17 formed an independent women’s professional tennis 

18 circuit, the Virginia Slims Tournament, and a play19 er’s union that would help achieve greater equality 

20 in prize money and recognition for women in sports. 

21 (8) In 1971, Billie Jean became the first 

22 woman in sports history to make $100,000 in earn23 ings in a single year. 

24 (9) In 1972, Billie Jean was also the first ten25 nis player to be named Sports Illustrated’s 


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1 Sportsperson of the Year and the first woman to re2 ceive the honor. 

3 (10) Billie Jean founded the Women’s Tennis 

4 Association, a successor to the Virginia Slims Series, 

5 and today’s principal governing body for women’s 

6 professional tennis. 

7 (11) Billie Jean helped found womenSports 

8 magazine and founded the Women’s Sports Founda9 tion. Both have been at the forefront of advancing 

10 women’s voice in sports. 

11 (12) In 1973, Billie Jean played a tennis match 

12 against Bobby Riggs, a top-ranked player through 

13 the 1940s who sought to undermine the credibility 

14 and prominence of women in sports. Billie Jean de15 feated Riggs in what became a firm declaration of 

16 women’s role in sports and society. 

17 (13) Billie Jean was one of the first women 

18 athletes to identify as lesbian, and has courageously 

19 challenged negative stereotypes and championed the 

20 visibility and inclusion of the LGBT community. 

21 (14) Billie Jean King was named one of the 

22 ‘‘100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Cen23 tury’’ by LIFE magazine. 

24 (15) Billie Jean King is the recipient of the 

25 1999 Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. 


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1 (16) Billie Jean’s excellence has earned her 

2 place in the International Women’s Sports Hall of 

3 Fame, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and 

4 the National Women’s Hall of Fame. 

5 (17) In 2006, the United States Tennis Asso6 ciation recognized Billie Jean’s immeasurable impact 

7 on the sport of tennis by renaming the site of the 

8 US Open in her honor as the USTA Billie Jean 

9 King National Tennis Center, which is located in 

10 Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New 

11 York. This was the first time a major sporting com12 plex was named after a woman. 

13 (18) Billie Jean King has received honorary de14 grees from colleges and universities across the Na15 tion, including the University of Pennsylvania, Dart16 mouth College, the University of Massachusetts Am17 herst, and Northwestern University, amongst others. 

18 (19) Billie Jean’s commitment and tireless ad19 vocacy to expand women’s tennis, created ground20 breaking opportunities, financial and otherwise, for 

21 women not only in tennis but across women’s sports. 

22 She has paved the way for others, including today’s 

23 famed tennis champion duo, sisters Venus and 

24 Serena Williams. 


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1 (20) Billie Jean believes in changing hearts and 

2 minds, and through her talent, tenacity, and advo3 cacy she changed how women are perceived world4 wide. 

5 (21) In 2009, Billie Jean was awarded the 

6 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest 

7 civilian honor, by President Barack Obama for her 

8 impactful work advocating for the rights of women 

9 and the LGBT community. She was the first female 

10 athlete to receive this honor. 

11 (22) In 2014, Billie Jean King founded an in12 clusive leadership non-profit organization to promote 

13 and transform equality in the workplace worldwide. 

14 The Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative aims to 

15 empower companies and individuals to create inclu16 sive work environments that celebrate and promote 

17 diversity to increase representation, maximize our ef18 ficiency, and tap into the unlimited potential of tal19 ent in our world. 

20 (23) Billie Jean King’s extraordinary courage, 

21 leadership, and activism helped propel the women’s 

22 movement forward, and open doors for countless 

23 Americans regardless of gender, race, class or sexual 

24 orientation. On and off the court, Billie Jean has 

25 served as an inspiration to millions of people the 


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1 world over. Few women and men have had a greater 

2 impact on their sport and on our society than Billie 

3 Jean King. 

4 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

5 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

6 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem7 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

8 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 

9 medal of appropriate design, to Billie Jean King, in rec10 ognition of her contribution to the Nation and her coura11 geous and groundbreaking leadership advancing equal 

12 rights for women and the LGBT community in athletics, 

13 education, and our society. 

14 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 

15 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

16 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 

17 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em18 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

19 Secretary. 

20 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

21 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre22 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

23 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 at 

24 a price sufficient to cover the cost of the bronze medals 


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1 (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 

2 overhead expenses) and the cost of the gold medal. 

3 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

4 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

5 for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

Æ 


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