A Republican congressman is trying to block the Treasury from redesigning U.S. currency, a move that could prevent the government from replacing Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill with abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

Rep. Steve King of Iowa has offered an amendment to a spending bill barring the use of funds to redesign any Federal Reserve note or coin. It wasn't immediately clear why King opposed the redesign, and his office did not immediately respond to messages.

Under plans announced in April by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, Tubman would replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill. The abolitionist and former slave who was a leader of the Underground Railroad will become the first African-American featured on U.S. paper currency and the first woman on paper currency in a century.

King is a conservative Republican known for his outspoken criticism of U.S. immigration policy. His Democratic opponent in Iowa, Kim Weaver, said it's "a headline-grabbing piece of stunt legislation."

"And what chance does this meaningless and mean-spirited gesture have of actually passing? Just like most measures introduced by Steve King, none," she said.

To read the complete article, see:
Steve King seeks to block U.S. currency redesign, including adding Harriet Tubman to $20 bill (www.omaha.com/news/iowa/steve-king-seeks-to-block-u-s-currency-redesign-including/article_13795002-37f7-11e6-8251-ef4c15429934.html)

I'd like to think the defeat of Rep. Steve King's proposed bill to keep Harriet Tubman off the $20 bill would be the end of that debate, but I doubt it will be.

Presidential hopeful Donald Trump has called the move to put Tubman on the $20 bill "pure political correctness" and suggested she be put on the $2 bill instead.

King, an Iowa Republican, said his opposition isn't to Tubman, per se, but to changing what works just fine, in his mind.

"It's not about Harriet Tubman, it's about keeping the picture on the $20," he said Tuesday, according to Politico. "You know? Why would you want to change that? I am a conservative. I like to keep what we have."

Which, appropriately enough, is the sort of thing Tubman heard all the time back in her day.

Why change this whole slavery setup? It's working just fine!

My son recently brought home a biography of Tubman from his school's book fair. It's part of a "Who Was" series called "Heroes of Black History" that also includes Jackie Robinson (his favorite baseball player), Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

As we read Tubman's story, I was embarrassed at how little I knew about her beyond her work on the Underground Railroad, where she led more than 300 slaves to freedom.

I didn't know she worked as a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War, serving as commander of intelligence operations and overseeing other scouts.

"As a small, black woman, she looked harmless," the book states. "She could slip behind enemy lines and approach the blacks who were with their masters in the Confederate army. These blacks would trust her. They might share information about the Southern army. This information could help the Union cause."

I didn't know she worked as a nurse during the war, caring for wounded soldiers and concocting a successful treatment for dysentery from roots and herbs she had watched her mother use as medicine.

I didn't know she gave speeches alongside women's rights activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Meanwhile, are we honestly witnessing pushback on granting Tubman a bit of recognition for the ways she changed the very fabric of our country? For her lifelong dedication to justice and freedom and equality - the nation's founding principles, which she fought for even when they were denied to her?

That's shameful.

Jackson can lose his spot on the $20 bill and we will still have white males on every single piece of paper currency in the United States, from the $1 bill to the $100 bill. Pushing for a smidgen of diversity isn't divisive. It's overdue.

Let's get on with it.

To read the complete article, see:
Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill? Let's get on with it (www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/stevens/ct-harriet-tubman-20-steve-king-balancing-0622-20160622-column.html)