House GOP avoids vote to block Harriet Tubman from $20
A GOP proposal to block the Treasury Department from including Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill will not be voted on in the House.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, offered the proposal as an amendment in the Rules Committee Tuesday night in an effort to attach it to the government spending bill that would fund the Treasury Department in the next fiscal year.
The proposal would defund any and all changes to Federal Reserve notes and coins. The Rules Committee, however, denied floor consideration of King's proposal, Politico reports.
"It's not about Harriet Tubman, it's about keeping the picture on the $20," King said Tuesday evening, pulling a $20 bill from his pocket and pointing at President Andrew Jackson, Politico's report said. "Y'know? Why would you want to change that? I am a conservative, I like to keep what we have."
The Treasury Department announced in April that Tubman, a black abolitionist famous for her role in helping slaves escape through the "Underground Railroad," would go on the $20 bill. Tubman is slated to replace Andrew Jackson, the nation's seventh president and a former slave owner, on the bill.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said he expects the bills to come out before 2030. The Treasury is asking the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to expedite the redesign process. The Federal Reserve is ultimately responsible for deciding when the currency will go into circulation.
CBS News' Reena Flores contributed to this report.
