S. 3705 · 119th Congress

Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act

Introduced on Jan 27, 2026 by Thom Tillis (R-NC). 3 cosponsors, 2 of them from another party. Became Public Law 119-79.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 119-79
Introduced
Jan 27, 2026
Cosponsors
3
2 from the other party
Policy area
Congress
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

A bill to provide for the creation of a congressional time capsule in commemoration of the semiquincentennial of the United States, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Congressional leadership
  • Historical and cultural resources
  • U.S. Capitol
  • U.S. history

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Feb 18, 2026). Public domain.

Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act

This act requires the Architect of the Capitol to create a congressional time capsule in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence to be buried in the Capitol Visitor Center on or before July 4, 2026.

The time capsule shall contain a joint letter from congressional leadership (the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate) and such other contents as they shall determine.

The act directs the Architect of the Capitol to also install a plaque about the time capsule, subject to the approval of the Committee on House Administration of the House and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate.

The time capsule shall be sealed until July 4, 2276. On that date, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader shall present the time capsule to the 244th Congress.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Thom TillisR-NCSponsor

Democrats · 2

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jan 27, 2026Introduced in Senate
  2. Jan 27, 2026Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  3. Jan 27, 2026 · SenateIntroduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S298; text: CR S298)
  4. Feb 2, 2026 · HouseReceived in the House.
  5. Feb 2, 2026 · HouseHeld at the desk.
  6. Feb 9, 2026 · HouseMrs. Bice moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  7. Feb 9, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2046-2048)
  8. Feb 9, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 3705.
  9. Feb 9, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2046-2047)
  10. Feb 9, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2046-2047)
  11. Feb 9, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. Feb 12, 2026Presented to President.
  13. Feb 12, 2026 · HousePresented to President.
  14. Feb 18, 2026Signed by President.
  15. Feb 18, 2026Signed by President.
  16. Feb 18, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-79.
  17. Feb 18, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-79.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.