Congress honors Medal of Honor recipients with National Mall monument
H.R. 186 — Hershel Woody Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act · Filed by Blake Moore (R-UT) · 8 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 3, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill authorizes the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to build a commemorative monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., honoring Medal of Honor recipients. The bill names the monument after Hershel Woody Williams, the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient who died in 2022, and specifies that it should be located near the Lincoln Memorial.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to authorize placement of a public monument honoring Medal of Honor recipients on federal land. It is a straightforward commemorative authorization with no regulatory, financial, or policy mechanism beyond site designation.
What the text implies
- The bill overrides section 8908 of title 40 USC, which normally restricts commemorative works on the National Mall. This carve-out is specific to this monument and sets a precedent for future commemorative-work site exceptions.
- Naming the monument after Hershel Woody Williams, who passed in 2022, honors a deceased Medal of Honor recipient rather than a sitting official, making this a protective/memorial naming rather than vanity legislation.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill authorizes a public commemorative work honoring military service and sacrifice with no direct cost to citizens (the Foundation funds construction) and no restrictions on citizen rights or remedies. It represents transparent public recognition of a national honor.
Who stands to gain
- National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation
Named in the bill
National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, Medal of Honor recipients, Hershel Woody Williams, Lincoln Memorial, National Mall, U.S. Armed Forces, Congress
Where it stands
8 cosponsors: 6 Republicans, 2 Democrats.
- Jan 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- Jan 21, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 414 - 0…”
- Jan 21, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
- Dec 9, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $140,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Blake Moore, the sponsor, reported $1,475,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Medal of Honor Museum — $100,000 on 2 filings
- City of Arlington — $40,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 19, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,515 characters) on Jun 22, 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.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 19, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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