Harriet Tubman Tribute Act of 2025
The Harriet Tubman Tribute Act of 2025 would require the Secretary of the Treasury to redesign the obverse (face) of all $20 Federal Reserve notes printed after December 31, 2030 to bear a likeness of Harriet Tubman. The date can be delayed by up to two years if the Secretary, after consulting the Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Director of the United States Secret Service, determines that issuing notes after 2030 would create an unacceptable risk to counterfeiting or to the safe, secure, and speedy functioning of the U.S. economy. In short, it codifies Harriet Tubman’s likeness on the $20 bill with a built-in contingency for a security/economic delay. The bill amends the Federal Reserve Act to implement this change.
Key Points
- 1Replaces the requirement that the face of all $20 notes printed after December 31, 2030 bear Harriet Tubman’s likeness.
- 2The Secretary may delay the implementation by up to two years beyond 2030 if a written determination (after consultation with BEP, the Fed, and the Secret Service) finds a significant risk to counterfeiting or to the economy’s functioning.
- 3The change is accomplished by amending the eighth undesignated paragraph of section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 418).
- 4The bill is titled the “Harriet Tubman Tribute Act of 2025.”
- 5The bill, as introduced, establishes policy but does not specify funding or appropriations to carry out the redesign.