Gulf of America Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Gulf of America Act provides that the Gulf of Mexico shall be known as the Gulf of America for United States purposes. It deems every federal reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico to be a reference to the Gulf of America. The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Chairman of the Board on Geographic Names, must oversee implementation of the renaming for federal documents and maps. Each federal agency must update its documents and maps within 180 days after enactment.
Who Benefits and How
Supporters of the Gulf of America name, federal policymakers backing the rename, Board on Geographic Names users, federal records users, federal map users, and agencies seeking a single official federal naming convention benefit from a uniform statutory name and a 180-day implementation deadline across federal records and maps.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of the Interior, Board on Geographic Names staff, federal agency records offices, federal mapping offices, agency web and publication teams, federal lawyers, map publishers relying on federal data, and public users of older federal records must update documents, maps, databases, regulations, legal references, and public-facing materials from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America.
Key Provisions
- Provides that the Gulf of Mexico shall be known as the Gulf of America for federal purposes.
- Provides that federal laws, maps, regulations, documents, papers, and records referring to the Gulf of Mexico are deemed to refer to the Gulf of America.
- Directs the Interior Secretary, through the Chairman of the Board on Geographic Names, to oversee implementation for federal documents and maps.
- Requires each federal agency to update its documents and maps within 180 days.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Renames the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America for federal purposes, deems federal legal and map references to use the new name, and requires the Interior Secretary through the Board on Geographic Names to oversee federal document and map updates within 180 days.
Key Policy Areas
Federal Administration, Maps, Commemoration
Primary Purpose
Renames the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America for federal purposes, deems federal legal and map references to use the new name, and requires the Interior Secretary through the Board on Geographic Names to oversee federal document and map updates within 180 days.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Supporters of the Gulf of America name
- Federal policymakers backing the rename
- Board on Geographic Names users
- Federal records users
- Federal map users
- Agencies seeking a single official federal naming convention
Identified Costs
- Department of the Interior
- Board on Geographic Names staff
- Federal agency records offices
- Federal mapping offices
- Agency web and publication teams
- Federal lawyers
- Map publishers relying on federal data
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseRead the second time and placed on the calendar
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under …
Received in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
On passage Passed by recorded vote: 211 - 206 (Roll …
Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by recorded vote: …
On motion to recommit Failed by the Yeas and Nays: …
The previous question on the motion to recommit was ordered …
Mr. Huffman moved to recommit to the Committee on Natural …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Board on Geographic Names staff, Department of the Interior, Federal agency records offices
Map publishers relying on federal data
On Passage
Gulf of America Act
On Motion to Recommit
Gulf of America Act
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "board"
- → Board on Geographic Names
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology