WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) today cheered the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s announcement that New Jersey-born suffragette Alice Paul will be commemorated on the new $10 bill. The back side of the $10 bill will honor women instrumental in the passage of the 19th Amendment, and Ms. Paul will appear with fellow women’s suffrage movement leaders Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.

“Alice Paul’s inspiring legacy reverberates far behind the borders of our home state – she inspired a nation and brought about monumental changes for the women around the world,” said Sen. Menendez. “I look forward to being reminded of these champions for gender equality – and especially New Jersey’s own Alice Paul – each time I use a $10 bill. In their honor, and for the future of our daughter and granddaughters, I will continue to fight until we achieve real equality and secure full ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.”

Menendez on Women’s Rights

Menendez has long recognized the inspiring legacy of Alice Paul and has been a leader in Congress for women’s equality. Menendez has introduced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the Senate since 2010 and in 2015, and introduced a bill to bestow Ms. Paul with the Congressional Gold Medal. When the Treasury Department announced in June 2015 that a woman would be considered for commemoration on the $10 bill, Menendez recommended Ms. Paul.

Alice Paul’s Legacy

Alice Paul started the National Women’s Party and was instrumental in the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Ms. Paul, a devout Quaker, not only led her fellow suffragists on a three-week long hunger strike, but also organized one of the first groups ever to picket the White House. In 1923, Ms. Paul wrote the 24 words that would become the ERA, to enshrine in the Constitution the equal protection under the law regardless of a person’s sex. This is the same text Menendez continues to push for in Congress. The ERA originally passed Congress in 1972, but failed to be ratified by a sufficient number of states.

Additionally, Ms. Paul’s resolve led to the inclusion of sexual discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Though best known for her endless work toward ratifying the 19th Amendment, she also fought for gender equality around the world. Her efforts facilitated the establishment of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, and she played a crucial role in the placement of a passage on gender equality in the preamble of the United Nations Charter.

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