HR9902Referred to Committee

Federal Naming Standards Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-07-23
Introduced
23
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Bill Foster
Bill Foster
Democrat · IL · Representative
Votes with party: 97.6% (667 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/F000454

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (23)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

2026-07-23

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Plain-English Summary

The proposal would prevent the federal government from naming buildings, facilities, or programs after elected officials or political appointees for a set period of time, and would also block naming them after anyone who is commercially using their name. The restriction aims to keep federal infrastructure from being used to promote politicians or their business interests while they're still in office or actively profiting from their name.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Government Operations and Politics

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 9902 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9902 To prohibit the naming of any Federal building, facility, or program after any elected official or political appointee for a certain period or while using their name commercially, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 23, 2026 Mr. Foster (for himself, Mr. Cisneros, Mr. Correa, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. Frost, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. Liccardo, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. McGarvey, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Norcross, Ms. Norton, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Veasey, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To prohibit the naming of any Federal building, facility, or program after any elected official or political appointee for a certain period or while using their name commercially, 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 ``Federal Naming Standards Act''. SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON RENAMING FEDERAL BUILDINGS, FACILITIES, OR PROGRAMS. (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal building, facility, or program may be named, renamed, designated, or redesignated in the name or likeness of any elected official or political appointee for the period described in subsection (b). (b) Covered Period.-- (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the period described in this subsection shall be the period from the time the individual began holding office as an elected official or political appointee until the date that is 10 years after the date on which such individual last held office or appointment. (2) Extension for certain individuals.--With respect to any individual who generates more than $1,000,000 (adjusted annually for inflation to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor) annually from commercial purposes for the use of their name, image, or likeness, the period described in this subsection shall be extended until the date on which such individual no longer meets such threshold. (c) Applicability.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not apply to-- (1) the name or likeness of an individual who is deceased; (2) any naming, renaming, designation, or redesignation before the date of enactment of this Act; and (3) any building, facility, or program named, renamed, designated, or redesignated for an individual who was not using their name or likeness for commercial purposes at the time of the naming, renaming, designation, or redesignation but subsequently has used their name or likeness for commercial purposes. (d) Inspector General Investigation.--The inspector general of each Federal agency shall investigate complaints alleging violations of this Act within the respective agency of such inspector general and report the findings of any investigation, within 90 days of the beginning of any such investigation, to the head of the respective agency and Congress. (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the incidental use of an individual's name and likeness in museum exhibits, archival collections, historical displays, educational materials, or documentary content produced or funded by the Federal Government or official reports, press releases, or…
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other informational materials as long as such use does not constitute the formal name or principal branding of a Federal site or Federal program. (f) Commercial Purposes Defined.--In this section, the term ``commercial purposes'' means the use of an individual's name or likeness in connection with the advertising, promotion, or sale of goods or services or licensing. <all>
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