Sponsors (4)
The bill establishes a size-limited, jointly approved Semiquincentennial time capsule to preserve a curated congressional record for future generations, trading modest near-term costs and concentrated leadership control — and a 250-year delay in public access — for long-term historical preservation and reduced physical risk to the Capitol Visitor Center.
Federal custodians (the Architect of the Capitol and related staff) are given a clear statutory mandate and timeline to create a Semiquincentennial time capsule, ensuring the project will be carried out rather than left to informal planning.
Historians, students, and future Americans will gain a preserved, jointly approved record of current congressional leadership that could support historical research and civic education generations from now.
Taxpayers, visitors, and Capitol Visitor Center infrastructure are protected from potential damage or higher maintenance needs because the capsule is limited in materials and size, reducing risk of degradation or physical harm to the facility.
Federal employees and taxpayers will incur additional duties, coordination burdens, and program costs to create and manage the capsule, with modest near-term public benefit relative to those expenses.
The general public, researchers, and journalists are denied access and oversight of the capsule's contents for 250 years because materials are to remain sealed until 2276, delaying transparency and accountability for a very long period.
Congressional staff, other Members of Congress, and the public may face a politically curated record because contents must be jointly approved by the four leadership offices, increasing the risk of politicization and excluding broader congressional or public input.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs the Architect of the Capitol to prepare and bury a sealed congressional time capsule by July 4, 2026, to be opened July 4, 2276, with contents jointly chosen by congressional leaders.
Creates a semiquincentennial congressional time capsule to be prepared by the Architect of the Capitol, filled with items jointly chosen by the four congressional leadership offices, sealed and buried in the Capitol Visitor Center by July 4, 2026, and scheduled to be opened on July 4, 2276 for presentation to the 244th Congress. The capsule must meet size and material limits, require committee approval for the burial site and plaque, and may include consultation with the Smithsonian and other federal entities; the act does not appropriate funds or change other law.
Introduced January 27, 2026 by Thomas Roland Tillis · Last progress February 18, 2026