Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act requires the Architect of the Capitol to create a congressional time capsule for the United States semiquincentennial. House and Senate leadership offices jointly determine the capsule contents, subject to restrictions on high-degradation organic materials and final approval by the House Administration and Senate Rules committees.
Who Benefits and How
Capitol Visitor Center public visitors benefit because the time capsule will be displayed publicly until the end of the 119th Congress. Future members of the 244th Congress benefit because the capsule is preserved for opening in 2076, giving them a record selected by current congressional leadership.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Architect of the Capitol must create, display, preserve, and transfer the time capsule. The Speaker, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, House Administration Committee, and Senate Rules Committee must coordinate content decisions and approvals.
Key Provisions
- Creates the Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule.
- Requires a joint content decision by the four top House and Senate leadership offices.
- Bars high-degradation organic materials from the capsule contents.
- Requires approval from House Administration and Senate Rules committees.
- Directs display in the Capitol Visitor Center until the end of the 119th Congress and opening by the 244th Congress.
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
Creates a Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule in the Capitol Visitor Center, assigns content decisions to four congressional leadership offices, requires durable materials and size limits, and keeps the capsule sealed until July 4, 2276.
Key Policy Areas
Commemorations, Congressional Operations, Historic Preservation
Primary Purpose
Creates a Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule in the Capitol Visitor Center, assigns content decisions to four congressional leadership offices, requires durable materials and size limits, and keeps the capsule sealed until July 4, 2276.
Policy Domains
Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule project
Identified Gains
- Capitol Visitor Center public visitors
- Future 244th Congress
- Congressional leadership offices
Identified Costs
- Architect of the Capitol
- House Administration Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Signed into LawBecame Public Law No: 119-79.
Signed by President.
Presented to President.
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
Mrs. Bice moved to suspend the rules and pass the …
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2046-2048)
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill …
Held at the desk.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Architect of the Capitol time capsule program, Future 244th Congress preservation process, House Administration Committee approval process
Positive-direction: Future 244th Congress preservation process
Negative-direction: Architect of the Capitol time capsule program, House Administration Committee approval process, Senate Rules Committee approval process
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "speaker"
- → Speaker of the House of Representatives
- "architect"
- → Architect of the Capitol
- "smithsonian_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
- "senate_majority_leader"
- → Majority Leader of the Senate
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule created by the Architect of the Capitol, buried in the Capitol Visitor Center by July 4, 2026, and sealed until July 4, 2276.
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