Congress creates Civil War park in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland.
H.R. 9597 — Civil War Defenses of Washington National Historical Park Act · Filed by Eleanor Norton (D-DC) · Introduced Jul 6, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill sets up a new National Historical Park. It covers Civil War defenses around Washington, D.C. The park will only buy land from willing sellers. The Secretary of the Interior will study how to teach Civil War history. The study will cover both Northern and Southern viewpoints. It will look at education centers and partnerships with local governments and private groups.
Who it affects
Land owners near the park can choose to sell or keep their property. Schools and communities will have access to Civil War history. Visitors will have new places to learn about the Civil War.
One thing to notice
The park will only buy land from willing sellers, so no one is forced to sell.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Jul 6, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 6, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- National Historical Park — A protected area owned by the government to preserve and teach history.
- Secretary of the Interior — The government official in charge of public lands and national parks.
- Civil War defenses — Forts, trenches, and structures built to protect Washington, D.C. during the Civil War.
- willing sellers — People who choose to sell their land; no one is forced to sell.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,018 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 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 2026-09-23.
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