{"id":46683,"date":"2025-07-07T18:58:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T18:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/46683\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T18:58:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T18:58:13","slug":"capitol-hills-trump-currency-talk-could-boost-fort-worth-cash-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/46683\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol Hill\u2019s Trump currency talk could boost Fort Worth cash plant"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Maria Recio, Fort Worth Report
July 7, 2025<\/p>\n

by Maria Recio, Fort Worth Report
July 7, 2025<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Fort Worth, long known by its boosters as the land of cowboys and culture, may want to add another alliterative word to its tourist attractions: cash.<\/p>\n

Recent rumblings on Capitol Hill about making some changes to U.S. currency may spike interest in the money-maker known as the Bureau of Engraving and Printing\u2019s Western Currency Facility, which is about 14 miles north of downtown on Blue Mound Road off Interstate 35.<\/p>\n

The federal government\u2019s money factory in the city has been a middling tourist draw for school groups \u2014 and, more recently, gamblers heading to Oklahoma casinos \u2014 for its free tours and awe factor inspired by sheets of money rolling off the production line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Around half of the nation\u2019s notes are printed in Fort Worth. The country\u2019s only other money factory is in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s up with the money?<\/p>\n

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound, introduced legislation<\/a> to put President Donald Trump on the $100 bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been no one who has done more to bring America into the golden age than President Trump,\u201d Gill said. \u201cFeaturing him on the $100 bill is a small way to honor all he will accomplish these next four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doing that, however, requires a change in the law that prohibits a living person from being on U.S. currency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additionally, it would mean displacing beloved founding father Benjamin Franklin who is so identified with the $100 note that the bills are known as \u201cBenjamins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another piece of legislation<\/a> also calls for putting Trump on a different bill. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, proposed featuring Trump on a newly created $250 denomination that is tied to the nation\u2019s 250th birthday celebration in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump is working tirelessly to fight inflation and help American families,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cThis achievement is deserving of currency recognition, which is why I am grateful to introduce this legislation. The most valuable bill for the most valuable president.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congress has been resistant to changing the faces on America\u2019s money. An effort to honor freedom fighter Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill<\/a> \u2014 replacing President Andrew Jackson, a slave owner \u2014 faltered during the Obama administration.<\/p>\n

What could all this mean for Cowtown?<\/p>\n

Steve Montgomery, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, keeps a bag filled with $750 of shredded discontinued bills that he was given during a tour of the money printing plant.<\/p>\n

Each bill made at the plant features the letters \u201cFW\u201d in small print on the bottom right of the note before the plate serial number \u2014 a sign it was printed in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great bragging rights for Fort Worth,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cThe coolest thing is we have our name on bills that go all over the country and all over the world. That\u2019s great pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montgomery is a big booster of the facility and any hook that might bring in more tourists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love for people to come to Fort Worth,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great attraction to have right in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The visitor center opened in 2004 \u2014 the plant was inaugurated in 1991 \u2014 and offers self-guided tours and a gift shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2024, 60,224 visitors toured the plant, Bureau of Engraving and Printing spokesperson Ellen Villeneuve said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still trying to catch up from the pandemic,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2016, the printer had 86,770 visitors. The facility was closed to tours from March 2020 to June 2023.<\/p>\n

Fort Worth\u2019s Stockyards, by comparison, had 9 million visitors in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur main attraction is the Stockyards,\u201d said Estela Martinez-Stuart, director of leisure sales and Hispanic partnerships at Visit Fort Worth, the city\u2019s tourist agency. \u201cThe bureau is more of a complementary activity. We don\u2019t see people coming to the bureau specifically.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has its niche appeal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A sold-out tour group from Oklahoma City boarded the Heartland Flyer train for a two-day visit in mid-June. Their first stop in Fort Worth? The money factory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all love to go to the Bureau of Engraving,\u201d said Suzy Ames, co-owner of Oklahoma City-based ReCreation Adventure Tours<\/a>. \u201cThey all want to have souvenirs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The main souvenirs are sheets of money. Also popular are the Lucky Money products. They feature a $1 bill with three 7s at the beginning of the serial number set in a plastic sleeve and a $2 bill with four 8s at the start of the serial number and a sleeve decorated with pandas called the Lucky Panda note.<\/p>\n

Placing the current president on currency could have two effects, former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would probably increase tourism and probably increase protests,\u201d she said. \u201cI think people would be excited. Texas is clearly Trump country. There\u2019s a lot of tourism out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the proposed money changes, the bills by Wilson and Gill were sent to the House Committee on Financial Services in February and March.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The committee has not taken action on either.<\/p>\n

History of Fort Worth\u2019s money factory<\/p>\n

1980s:<\/strong> During President Ronald Reagan\u2019s administration, federal officials sought to protect the nation\u2019s currency in case of disaster. They wanted to add a second money-printing site beyond Washington, D.C., to ensure the Western U.S. could get cash faster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Texas lawmakers led by U.S. Rep. Jim Wright, D-Fort Worth, who served as speaker from 1987 to 1989, campaigned for the selection of Fort Worth, promoting the advantages of being by Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.<\/p>\n

1987: <\/strong>Fort Worth is selected over more than 75 cities and donates 100 acres for the facility. Construction began.<\/p>\n

1990:<\/strong> Currency production begins in December.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1991: <\/strong>The facility formally dedicated on April 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1994: <\/strong>Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, a former U.S. senator who represented Texas, travels to Fort Worth on April 7 to unveil currency with his signature. \u201cIt may be great to be secretary but let me tell you, there\u2019s one perk I don\u2019t get \u2014 I don\u2019t get any free samples,\u201d he said at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

2004: <\/strong>Visitor Center opens. The facility hosts visitors, including school groups, for free self-guided tours and includes a film and exhibits of currency production and a gift shop.<\/p>\n

Maria Recio is a freelance reporter based in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

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