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HCONRES 16
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Providing for a joint session of the Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, July 2, 2026, in honor of the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence.

Providing for a joint session of the Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, July 2, 2026, in honor of the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence.

Introduced Feb 27, 2025

Latest action (Feb 27, 2025) Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Policy area

Summary

This concurrent resolution directs Congress to hold a joint session meeting at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, July 2, 2026. The meeting is intended to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and honor Philadelphia's role as the nation's birthplace and the location where the Declaration was approved on July 4, 1776. The resolution notes that this would be only the third time since Congress moved to Washington, D.C. in 1800 that it has convened outside of the District of Columbia. Congress previously met outside Washington in 1987 at Independence Hall to mark the Constitution's bicentennial and in 2002 at Federal Hall in New York following September 11, 2001.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Money behind the sponsor

Top reported contributors to Brendan F. Boyle’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.

  • ROCKET COMPANIES $9,900
  • THE DASCHLE GROUP $9,300
  • MASSMUTUAL $8,000
  • CORNERSTONE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS $7,300
  • GOLDMAN SACHS $6,850

Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Brendan F. Boyle → · Outside spending →

Actions (2)

  1. Feb 27, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
  2. Feb 27, 2025 Submitted in House

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

Text versions (1)

  • Introduced in House · Feb 27, 2025

Only one text version is on file, so there’s no earlier version to compare against yet.

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 27, 2025

Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms. Salazar, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Houlahan, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Mackenzie, and Mr. Smucker) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Providing for a joint session of the Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, July 2, 2026, in honor of the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence.

Whereas the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1682; Whereas Philadelphia has become known as the Nation’s birthplace for the critical role it played in the founding of the United States of America; Whereas Philadelphia was the meeting place for the first Continental Congress, the second Continental Congress, and the Constitutional Convention; Whereas Philadelphia served as the capital of the United States from 1790-1800; Whereas, on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, at the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall; Whereas the Declaration of Independence officially severed the 13 colonies’ ties to the British Crown; Whereas Independence Hall is 1 of only 26 cultural World Heritage sites in the United States of America; Whereas Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became the first World Heritage City in the United States of America; Whereas, shortly after the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin proclaimed of the Rising Sun Armchair at Independence Hall, “I have often looked at that picture behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun”; Whereas across from Independence Hall stands the Liberty Bell, displaying the phrase “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof”; Whereas only on 2 occasions since the United States Capitol moved to Washington, District of Colombia, in 1800 has Congress convened outside of the District of Colombia; Whereas, on July 16, 1987, Congress met at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to “honor the bicentennial of the Constitution” and commemorate “the 200th anniversary of the Great Compromise of the Constitutional Convention”; Whereas, on September 6, 2002, Congress met at Federal Hall in New York, New York, “in remembrance of the victims and heroes of September 11, 2001, and in recognition of the courage and spirit of the City of New York”; and Whereas, July 4, 2026, will serve as the semiquincentennial, or 250th anniversary, of the founding of the United States: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That, in honor of the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence, the two Houses of the Congress shall assemble in a joint session at the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, July 2, 2026, for the purpose of commemorating the Declaration of Independence. <all>

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