H.R. 9902

119 HR 9902 IH: Federal Naming Standards Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-07-23
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 9902  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. García 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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Federal Naming Standards Act  .
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 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.