119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 469
AN ACT
To provide for the creation of a Congressional time capsule
in commemoration of the semiquincentennial of the
United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2
•HR 469 EH
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Semiquincentennial 2
Congressional Time Capsule Act’’. 3
SEC. 2. SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL CONGRESSIONAL TIME CAP-4
SULE. 5
(a) C
REATION BYARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL.— 6
The Architect of the Capitol shall create a Congressional 7
time capsule, to be known as the ‘‘Semiquincentennial 8
Congressional Time Capsule’’ (in this Act referred to as 9
the ‘‘Time Capsule’’). 10
(b) C
ONTENTS.— 11
(1) D
ETERMINATION BY CONGRESSIONAL LEAD -12
ERSHIP.—The Office of the Speaker of the House of 13
Representatives, Office of the Minority Leader of the 14
House of Representatives, Office of the Majority 15
Leader of the Senate, and Office of the Minority 16
Leader of the Senate shall jointly determine the con-17
tents of the Time Capsule, taking into account the 18
requirements of paragraph (2). 19
(2) S
PECIFICATIONS.—The contents of the 20
Time Capsule shall include— 21
(A) a representative portion of all books, 22
manuscripts, miscellaneous printed matter, 23
memorabilia, relics, and other materials relating 24
to the United States Semiquincentennial; 25 3
•HR 469 EH
(B) copies or representations of important 1
legislative and institutional milestones of Con-2
gress during the time before the Time Capsule 3
is buried; 4
(C) a message from Congress to the future 5
Congress when the Time Capsule will be 6
opened; and 7
(D) such other content as the offices de-8
scribed in paragraph (1) consider appropriate. 9
(3) C
ONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sub-10
section, the offices described in paragraph (1) may 11
consult with the Architect of the Capitol, the Sec-12
retary of the Smithsonian Institution, and such 13
other entities of the Federal Government as the of-14
fices consider appropriate. 15
(c) D
UTIES OFARCHITECT.—The Architect of the 16
Capitol shall— 17
(1) prepare the Time Capsule to be sealed and 18
buried on the West Lawn of the Capitol, at a loca-19
tion specified by the Architect, on or before July 20
4th, 2026, at a time which would permit individuals 21
attending this event to also attend the burial of a 22
time capsule in Independence Mall in Philadelphia, 23
Pennsylvania, under section 7(f)(1) of the United 24 4
•HR 469 EH
States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016 1
(36 U.S.C. 101 note prec.); and 2
(2) install a plaque to provide such information 3
about the Time Capsule as the Architect considers 4
appropriate. 5
(d) U
NSEALING.—The Time Capsule shall be sealed 6
until July 4th, 2276, on which date the Speaker of the 7
House of Representatives shall present the Time Capsule 8
to the 244th Congress, and such Congress shall determine 9
how the contents within should be preserved or used. 10
Passed the House of Representatives February 26,
2025.
Attest:
Clerk. 119
TH
CONGRESS
1
ST
S
ESSION
H. R. 469
AN ACT
To provide for the creation of a Congressional time
capsule in commemoration of the
semiquincentennial of the United States, and for
other purposes.