Territories gain equal right to honor their heroes in Capitol statuary.

What it does

This bill allows five U.S. territories and commonwealths—American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—to contribute statues to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the Capitol, a privilege previously limited to the 50 states. The bill treats these territories identically to states in terms of statue specifications and placement, and directs the Architect of the Capitol to manage the acquisition and installation process.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative effect is to extend an existing symbolic honor—the right to place statues in the Capitol—to five U.S. territories on equal terms with the 50 states. It is a straightforward inclusion measure with no financial, regulatory, or substantive policy mechanism.

What the text implies

• Territories may incur costs to commission, transport, and install statues; the bill does not fund these activities, leaving the financial burden on territorial governments.
• The Architect of the Capitol gains administrative responsibility for managing statue acquisition and placement from five additional jurisdictions, potentially increasing workload and coordination complexity.
• Inclusion in Statuary Hall may increase political pressure on territories to select statues, potentially creating internal political disputes over which historical figures are honored.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Citizens of U.S. territories gain equal symbolic representation in the Capitol and recognition of their communities' historical and cultural figures. The bill imposes no costs on citizens and expands an existing honor equally to all inhabited U.S. jurisdictions.

Named in the bill

American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, National Statuary Hall Collection, Architect of the Capitol, Joint Committee of Congress on the Library, Section 1814 of the Revised Statutes, Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2001

Where it stands

6 cosponsors: 4 Democrats, 2 Republicans.

• Jan 14, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jan 14, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on House Administration · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on House Administration”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $732,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 25 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 0% of bills with at least one filing.

James (Jim) Moylan, the sponsor, reported $45,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Enbridge (u.s.) Inc — $732,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 23, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.