Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act would create box to be unsealed in 2276 on country’s 500th anniversary
In the year 2276, the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards could still be alive.
Context
A “time capsule” is a chest, box, container, or crate of physical items representing the time period when it was created, to be opened at a future date as a historical artifact.
One was buried by a magazine publisher in 1876, then unlocked exactly a century later at a 1976 ceremony attended by President Gerald Ford. Recovered items included a book about the then-popular temperance movement encouraging an alcohol ban, plus photographs of then-prominent politicians including President Ulysses S. Grant.
In 2014, construction workers repairing a water leak at the Massachusetts State House accidentally discovered a time capsule placed in the cornerstone from 1795. Recovered items included silver coins, a copper medal with the face of George Washington, and newspapers.
In 2021, when Virginia removed a longstanding statue of slaveholder Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the state capitol Richmond, conservators found a time capsule embedded in the pedestal from 1887. Items included Confederate banknotes, an 1887 almanac, and bullets shot during Civil War battles.
Just earlier this month, the Virginia General Assembly buried a new time capsule of early-2020s items outside their new legislative building, including a Covid home test, a face mask, and a computer mouse.
What the legislation does
The Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act would create an “official” governmental time capsule for the country’s 250th anniversary, to be buried outside the U.S. Capitol Building in July 2026 and uncovered again on the 500th anniversary in July 2276.
The capsule’s exact contents aren’t specified in the bill, which instead states that the items would be selected by a four-person team comprising the top Republican and Democrat each in both the House and Senate.
Why is this a bill, rather than something Congress could just do unilaterally? “Our office inquired with the Architect of the Capitol about this very question over the summer,” a spokesperson for the lead House sponsor told GovTrack Insider. “They were of the opinion that they could not act on a congressional time capsule without explicit legislative authority.”
The House version was introduced as H.R. 6394 on November 13, by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ12). The Senate version was introduced as S. 3293 the next day on November 14, by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
What supporters say
Supporters argue that a collection of physical mementos could prove fun and entertaining, but also poignant, to very distant future generations.
“July 4, 1776, was an essential milestone in the history of the progress of humanity towards a fair, just, and democratic society — a journey towards a more perfect union that continues to this day,” Rep. Watson Coleman said in a press release. “As we reflect upon the last 250 years of progress towards those ideals, it is also important to impart on future generations the lessons we’ve learned and our dreams for the future.”
“As we reflect on the democratic ideals our nation was built upon ahead of its 250th anniversary celebration, it’s important we consider the impact our present-day actions have on shaping our American democracy and society in the future,” Sen. Shaheen said in a separate press release. “This legislation… will preserve the rich culture and ideas of this historical moment in the United States for generations to come.”
Odds of passage
The House version has attracted 17 bipartisan cosponsors: nine Democrats and eight Republicans. It awaits a potential vote in either the House Administration or House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The Senate version has attracted five bipartisan cosponsors: three Republicans and two Democrats. It awaits a potential vote in the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.
Since the bill would need to pass by July 2026, more than two and a half years from now, this is hardly the first priority of Congress at the moment.
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This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.
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