Katko requests updated timeline on push to get Harriet Tubman on $20 bill

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC/AP) — U.S. Rep. John Katko (R, NY-24) Monday renewed his push for Harriet Tubman to be put on the $20 bill.

Katko sent a letter to the United States Treasury Department, requesting an updated timeline. Back in January, the Biden administration expressed strong support for replacing Andrew Jackson with Tubman, but nothing has happened yet.

The change has been years in the making.

"To my knowledge, we’ve never had a woman, or person of color, or any minority on a — any paper currency — and I think it’s past due," Katko said.

Katko says toward the end of President Obama’s administration there was a commitment to start the process, but it was delayed under the Trump administration as then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin opted to redesign the $10 and $50 bills, improving anti-counterfeiting features and pushing the redesign of the $20 bill back to 2028.

He goes on to say that it was stopped during President Trump’s time in office. Now both he, and Senator Beatty from Ohio, are trying to reinvigorate the effort.

"It sounds like we made progress already, but there was a lot of progress, a lot of promises, and now we’re just trying to get a feel for, are those promises really going to come to fruition, number 1, and number 2 when, and we’re just trying to keep the pressure on them to make sure that it happens," Katko said.

Katko says the next step is to keep pressuring the U.S. Treasury Department to get a firm commitment to a timetable.

"That’s what we’re trying to get them to do. So in other words they say we’re going to do it, but basically, saying when you’re gonna do it? let’s get it done. It’s too important to let it lapse, and those things end up taking a long time, but once we get a timetable we’ll all be happy with it, and ready to go," Katko said.

Read the letter in its entirety below:

Katko letter to Yellen by News10NBC on Scribd