Congress picks the mastodon and T. rex as national fossils
H.R. 9191 — National Fossil Act · Filed by Erin Houchin (R-IN) · 9 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 8, 2026 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill makes the American mastodon the national fossil mammal. It makes the Tyrannosaurus rex the national fossil dinosaur. These join other national symbols like the flag, anthem, and national bird. The bill changes federal law to add these two new symbols.
Who it affects
All Americans gain two new national symbols. The bill costs no money and creates no new rules or duties for anyone.
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 — An official symbol of the United States, like the national bird or flower
- mastodon — A large extinct animal similar to an elephant that lived long ago
- Tyrannosaurus rex — A large extinct meat-eating dinosaur that lived millions of years ago
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 14,358 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 2026-09-19.
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