Congress asks President to designate history month—but offers no funding.
H.R. 10781 — National American History and Founders Month Act · Filed by Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Oct 9, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requests the President to designate one month each year as National American History and Founders Month, and asks state governors and territorial leaders to issue proclamations encouraging educational programs and ceremonies about U.S. history and the Founding Fathers. The bill does not mandate anything, create funding, or change existing law—it is a non-binding request tied to concerns about declining civics education among American students.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a request resolution designating a month for educational and historical awareness. It creates no legal obligation, appropriates no funds, and imposes no restrictions. It is functionally a messaging instrument tied to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
What the text implies
- The bill's effectiveness depends entirely on voluntary compliance by schools, states, and organizations—there is no enforcement mechanism or funding to support the requested programs.
- Designating November as National American History and Founders Month may create calendar competition with existing November observances (Native American Heritage Month, Veterans Day), potentially diluting attention to each.
- The bill frames civics education decline as a problem but offers only a symbolic remedy; no appropriations or curriculum mandates accompany the request.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill itself creates no enforceable obligation or direct benefit—it is a non-binding request. However, the underlying goal (promoting civics education and historical literacy) aligns with public interest, and the designation may encourage schools and organizations to voluntarily expand educational programming. The civic concern is that a request to the President carries no teeth and may not move the needle on the documented decline in civics proficiency.
Named in the bill
President of the United States, State governors, District of Columbia, U.S. territories and possessions, Educational and service organizations, Schools and communities
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Oct 9, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 9, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,884 characters) on Oct 16, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress asks President to designate history month—but offers no funding.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10781 Report an error
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