Just recently, King introduced an amendment that would prevent the Treasury Department from spending any money USA currency.
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Harriet Tubman was a former slave turned dedicated abolitionist and women’s suffrage advocate.
Kim Weaver, a Democrat who is challenging King for his seat in November, called the amendment a stunt.
“It’s not about Harriet Tubman, it’s about keeping the picture on the $20”, King explained on Tuesday, according to Politico, while pulling out a $20 from his pocket and gesturing at Jackson’s face. “Why would you want to change that?”
But if the amendment passes, it would halt any plans to place Tubman – one of the U.S.’s most iconic abolitionists, known for her work in the Underground Railroad during the Civil War – on the $20 bill. “I am a conservative, I like to keep what we have”. If the legislation fails, Tubman could become the first black woman to be featured on US currency.
A Treasury official said Wednesday, April 20, 2016, that Secretary Jacob Lew has made a decision to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, making her the first woman on USA paper currency in 100 years. “This is a divisive proposal on the part of the president, and mine’s unifying”.
“Here’s what’s really happening: This is liberal activism on the part of the president that’s trying to identify people by categories, and he’s divided us on the lines of groups”, he explained.
The Treasury Department announced in April that it would switch out Jackson for Tubman on the $20 bill.
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His amendment would also keep Susan B. Anthony off the back of the $10, even though Alexander Hamilton’s portrait will remain on the front; and a number of changes to the back of the $5, including images of Dr. Martin Luther King and Marian Anderson.
