Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act
Latest action · Dec 17, 2024 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 13, 2023
- Passed HouseDec 16, 2024
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act
This bill requires the Architect of the Capitol to create a congressional time capsule in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence to be buried on the west lawn of the Capitol on or before July 4, 2026. Congressional leadership will determine the contents of the time capsule, and the time capsule shall be sealed until July 4, 2276.
Cosponsors 60
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Nov 13, 2023 to Nov 8, 2024; 17 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-PA | Brendan F. Boyle | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| D-NH | Chris Pappas | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| D-NC | Donald G. Davis | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| D-PA | Dwight Evans | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| R-PA | Glenn Thompson | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| R-MI | Lisa C. McClain | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| D-MA | Lori Trahan | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| R-FL | Maria Elvira Salazar | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| R-NY | Michael Lawler | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| R-AL | Robert B. Aderholt | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | Original | Nov 13, 2023 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Committee on House Administration | Referred Nov 13, 2023Markup Sep 11, 2024Reported Nov 19, 2024 |
| House | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Referred Nov 13, 2023Discharged Nov 19, 2024 |
| Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee | Referred Nov 20, 2023 | |
| Senate | Rules and Administration Committee | Referred Dec 17, 2024 |
Actions 14
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 17, 2024Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
- Dec 16, 2024Mr. Steil moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Dec 16, 2024Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H7154-7156)
- Dec 16, 2024DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6394.
- Dec 16, 2024Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H7154-7155)
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H7154–H7156Text printed H7154 | Bonnie Watson Coleman D-NJ, Bryan Steil R-WI, Joseph D. Morelle D-NY | Dec 16, 2024 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Dec 18, 2024H.R. 6394, Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule ActAs passed by the House of Representatives on December 16, 2024
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 187, November 13, 2023, page H5730.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | MARKUP OF H.R. 9488, H.R. 7764, H.R. 6394, H.R. 6969, H.R. 9489, H.R. 9487, and H.R. 624262 pages | Committee on House Administration | Sep 11, 2024 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R48473 | Congressional Involvement in the Celebration of Anniversaries of the Declaration of Independence | Report | Dec 12, 2025 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3293 | Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act | Identical bill | Nov 14, 2023 |
Titles 5
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide for the creation of a Congressional time capsule in commemoration of the semiquincentennial of the United States, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Congress.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 17, 2024Referred in Senate
- Dec 16, 2024Engrossed in House
- Nov 19, 2024Reported in House
- Nov 13, 2023Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
