FORT WORTH, TX (1080 KRLD) - The Secretary of the U.S. Treasury came to Fort Worth Thursday to add her signature to American money. Janet Yellin etched her name into a stencil at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing office.
"The Founding Fathers did not account for what seems to be a common attribute for treasury secretaries, namely terrible handwriting," Yellin said, saying she had practiced her signature ahead of time.
Yellin is the first female secretary of the treasury. She joined U.S. Treasurer Lynn Malerba, who is the first Native American to serve in the role. The two will be the first females with their names on American currency.
"This makes me very emotional," Malerba said. "I'm very proud."
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing says Fort Worth plays a key role in changes the agency is adopting. As people spent more money online during the pandemic, BEP says the flow of currency slowed, so the bureau says it focused on higher denominations.
As people have been spending more time away from home, BEP says it has started producing higher numbers of smaller denominations. The bureau says its production of one dollar bills has increased from 10% of its output to 40%.
Yellin says BEP will expand its facility in Fort Worth as the agency redesigns currency for added security and to better "reflect the full fabric of our nation."
"The currency you produce here touches just about everyone in the United States and millions more across the world," she says.
Harriet Tubman is being added to the $20 bill. This year, the US Mint launched its "American Women Quarters Program," which is adding ten women to quarters through the end of 2023:
In 2022:
Maya Angelou – celebrated writer, performer, and social activist
Dr. Sally Ride – physicist, astronaut, educator, and first American woman in space
Wilma Mankiller – first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
Nina Otero-Warren – a leader in New Mexico's suffrage movement and the first woman superintendent of Santa Fe public schools
Anna May Wong – first Chinese American film star in Hollywood
In 2023:
Bessie Coleman – first African American and first Native American woman pilot
Edith Kanakaʻole – indigenous Hawaiian composer, custodian of native culture and traditions
Eleanor Roosevelt – first lady, author, and civil liberties advocate
Jovita Idar – Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist
Maria Tallchief – America's first prima ballerina
"Today is not about me," Yellin says. "It's about our collective work to create a stronger and more inclusive economy."
The notes produced in Fort Worth will be sent to the U.S. Treasury and should enter circulation next year.
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