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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5678 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5678
To require the Secretary of the Navy to establish a process for naming
of Naval vessels, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 30, 2026
Mr. Booker introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Navy to establish a process for naming
of Naval vessels, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Navy Accountability and Military
Eponym Standards Act'' or the ``NAMES Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCESS FOR NAMING OF VESSELS OF THE NAVY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Navy shall--
(1) establish and publish objective criteria for naming and
renaming vessels of the Navy;
(2) obtain a written historical assessment from the Naval
History and Heritage Command before naming or renaming a
vessel;
(3) provide a written rationale for the selected name for
the vessel;
(4) explain any departure from the primary naming
recommendation of the Naval History and Heritage Command with
respect to the vessel; and
(5) when renaming a vessel, explain the historical
significance of the existing name and the reasons for removing
it.
(b) Written Determination.--The Secretary shall provide any written
determination required under subsection (a) to the congressional
defense committees (as defined in section 101(a)(16) of title 10,
United States Code) and make it publicly available, subject to
applicable law.
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