Bill makes mastodon and T. rex official national symbols
H.R. 9191 — National Fossil Act of 2026 · Filed by Erin Houchin (R-IN) · 9 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 8, 2026 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill picks the American mastodon as the national fossil mammal. It picks the Tyrannosaurus rex as the national fossil dinosaur. These two symbols join other national symbols. The law already names a national bird and tree.
Who it affects
This bill affects all Americans. It adds two new official symbols to the nation's list.
Where it stands
9 cosponsors: 7 Republicans, 2 Democrats.
- Jun 8, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 8, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary and Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
- Jul 15, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Jul 15, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 22 - 1”
- Sep 16, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote”
- Sep 16, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Ms. Lee (FL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- national fossil mammal — An official symbol of the United States that is an extinct mammal.
- national fossil dinosaur — An official symbol of the United States that is an extinct dinosaur.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,041 characters) on Jul 16, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,928 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 2026-11-03.
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