U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) has become the third and final member of the Northern Virginia delegation to the House of Representatives to sign on as a cosponsor of legislation awarding Billie Jean King a Congressional Gold Medal.
Beyer joined U.S. Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-11th) and Jennifer Wexton (D-10th), who signed as cosponsors of the bill in June.
The measure is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and has picked up a majority of the House of Representatives as sponsors – 173 Democrats and 69 Republicans. Among them are eight of the 11 Virginia representatives (two Republicans and six Democrats).
The proposal aims to honor King, 80, both for her athletic prowess and her work supporting gender equity.
Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987, King won 39 Grand Slam titles during her career, and her 1973 defeat of Bobby Riggs in the so-called “Battle of the Sexes” is seen as a pivotal moment in the nascent women’s movement.
Fitzpatrick’s measure currently sits in the House Committee on Financial Services.
