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Hershel ‘Woody' Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act
To authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients.
Summary
This bill authorizes the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative monument on the National Mall within the Reserve near the Lincoln Memorial to honor Medal of Honor recipients. The bill modifies location restrictions in federal law that normally apply to commemorative works on the National Mall, allowing this monument to be placed in this specific area. The bill notes that this location choice reflects the connection between the Medal of Honor and President Abraham Lincoln's legacy. All other requirements of the Commemorative Works Act continue to apply to the project.
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)
13 cosponsors
- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN)
- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC)
- Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] (R-WV)
- Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA)
- Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-TX)
- Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR)
- Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX)
- Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ)
- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS)
- Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID] (R-ID)
- Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT] (R-MT)
- Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC)
Actions (11)
- Mar 27, 2026 Held at the desk. · house
- Mar 27, 2026 Received in the House. · house
- Mar 27, 2026 Message on Senate action sent to the House. · senate
- Mar 25, 2026 Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S1605) · senate
- Mar 25, 2026 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Mar 25, 2026 Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S1605) · senate
- Mar 25, 2026 Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged by Unanimous Consent. · senate
- Dec 17, 2025 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. · senate
- Dec 9, 2025 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. · senate
- Mar 5, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. · senate
- Mar 5, 2025 Introduced in Senate
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
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.
Committee action
What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.
Meetings where this bill was on the agenda
- Business meeting to consider S.291, to establish an interest-bearing account for the non-Federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, S.858, to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1470, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, S.1787, to establish the Dolores River National Conservation Area and the Dolores River Special Management Area in the State of Colorado, to protect private water rights in the State, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, S.2015, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, S.2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, S.2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land, S.2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public investment for purposes of certain rulemaking, S.2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2881, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California.
- Hearings to examine S.290, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to upgrade existing emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, S.332, to require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools, S.446, to prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, S.573, to designate a mountain in the State of Alaska as Denali, S.601, to remove restrictions from a parcel of land in Paducah, Kentucky, S.730, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of establishing the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Educational Center at the African Burial Ground National Monument, S.791, to establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park System, H.R.186, and S.858, bills to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1088, to provide that the memorial to commemorate the sacrifice and service of the women who worked on the home front to support the efforts of the United States military during World War II may be located on the National Mall, S.1131, to establish the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve in the State of Georgia, S.1135, to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, S.1280, to designate six creeks in North Carolina in honor of the lives lost in a plane crash in Carteret County, North Carolina, on February 13, 2022, S.1353, to extend the authority for modifications to the Second Division Memorial in the District of Columbia, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1518, to redesignate the Saratoga National Historical Park as the "Saratoga National Battlefield Park", S.1777, to amend the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 to expand the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park, to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the "Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center", S.1870, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, S.1926, to encourage reduction of disposable plastic products in units of the National Park System, S.2270, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate the portion of the Myakka River in Sarasota County, Florida, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, S.2308, to amend the Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to collect a surcharge from international visitors to units of the National Park System, S.2369, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to remove or permanently conceal the name of Francis Newlands on the grounds of the memorial fountain located at Chevy Chase Circle in the District of Columbia, S.2385, to codify Executive Order 14253 relating to restoring truth and sanity to American history, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2708, to enhance the preservation, maintenance, and management of national historic trails and national scenic trails, S.2970, to authorize the use of off-highway vehicles in certain areas of the Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, and H.R.249, to redesignate certain facilities at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in honor of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 5, 2025
Mr. Justice (for himself, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Risch, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Budd, Mr. Cruz, and Mr. Cotton) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act”
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Congress in 2021 unanimously passed, and the President signed, Public Law 117-80 (40 U.S.C. 8903 note), which authorized the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish on Federal land in the District of Columbia a commemorative work to honor the acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients.
(2) The Medal of Honor was established by President Abraham Lincoln and first awarded 160 years ago on March 25, 1863, and is part of Lincoln’s lasting and living legacy.
(3) In 1991, during the administration of President George H.W. Bush, this legacy was extended further when National Medal of Honor Day was established as March 25th of each year.
(4) The Medal of Honor is awarded to all branches of the United States Armed Forces as our nation’s highest recognition for valor in combat.
(5) The number of living Medal of Honor recipients has been steadily declining, making it even more crucial to honor and recognize their heroic sacrifices and inspire future generations.
(6) Hershel “Woody” Williams, the last World War II Medal of Honor recipient, passed away in 2022 and laid in honor at the United States Capitol.
(7) The Medal of Honor represents the very best of our Nation—ordinary citizens, who took extraordinary action above and beyond the call of duty and became heroes of our Republic.
(8) These examples inspire all citizens and ignite within us the very spirit of America.
(9) The Medal of Honor rises to the level of supreme national and historical importance necessary to warrant representation on the National Mall.
(10) Locating the National Medal of Honor Monument in close proximity to the Lincoln Memorial within the Reserve would be a respectful extension of his enduring legacy and recognition of what ordinary people can accomplish when working for the greater good.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MONUMENT LOCATION.
(a) Site.—Notwithstanding section 8908(c) of title 40, United States Code, the commemorative work authorized by section 1(a) of Public Law 117-80 (40 U.S.C. 8903 note) shall be located within the Reserve (as defined in section 8902(a) of title 40, United States Code).
(b) Applicability of Commemorative Works Act.—Except as provided in subsection (a), chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code (commonly known as the “Commemorative Works Act”), shall apply to the commemorative work. <all>
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