Federal Naming Standards Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9902 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 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.
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