PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] · D–NM
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 28, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-21 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would limit how covered federal officials can influence the Smithsonian’s presentation of history. It would prohibit specified political interference with historical interpretations and content, and prohibit viewpoint requirements attached to federal funding. Smithsonian employees, agents and affiliated individuals would have to report interference, attempts and threats. The prohibitions would exclude specified Smithsonian officials and affiliates.
(1) Require the Smithsonian Institution to adopt a particular interpretation of events based solely on the political preference or belief of the official. (2) Request, cause, direct, order, or carry out the removal, alteration, or prohibition of the content of a material, an exhibit, educational programming, a research publication, or a historical item in the Smithsonian Institution solely because the content includes a discussion or reference to a controversial or politically sensitive aspect of American history. (3) Impose, as a term or condition for Federal funding, a requirement that the Smithsonian Institution endorse or include a particular viewpoint.
An employee or agent of, or an individual affiliated with, the Smithsonian Institution shall report any action described in subsection (a) or an attempt or threat to carry out such action to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
In this section, the term Federal official means the President, the Vice President, or an individual in the civil service or the uniformed services, as such terms are defined in section 2101 of title 5, United States Code, who is not any of the following: (1) The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. (2) An individual who is a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, when such individual is acting in the official capacity of such member. (3) An employee or agent of, or an individual affiliated with, the Smithsonian Institution.
The bill would be called the Smithsonian Integrity and Historical Independence Act of 2026.
This Act may be cited as the Smithsonian Integrity and Historical Independence Act of 2026.
The proposed findings endorse accurate history, scholarly independence and government oversight that does not dictate historical conclusions or political viewpoints. These are Congress’s proposed statements of principle, not evidence that the bill would produce those results.
The Congress finds the following:
(2) The United States has a responsibility to ensure that these institutions present accurate, evidence-based accounts of American history, including achievements, conflicts, injustices, and the experiences of diverse communities. (3) Scholarly independence and professional standards in museums are essential to maintaining public trust. (4) Government officials have a legitimate role in oversight of taxpayer-funded institutions but should not direct historical conclusions, suppress scholarship, or require institutions to adopt particular political viewpoints.
Covered federal officials could not require the Smithsonian to adopt an interpretation of events based solely on that official’s political preferences or beliefs.
A Federal official may not carry out any of the following: (1) Require the Smithsonian Institution to adopt a particular interpretation of events based solely on the political preference or belief of the official.
Covered federal officials could not request, cause, direct, order or carry out the removal, alteration or prohibition of Smithsonian content solely because it discusses or refers to controversial or politically sensitive American history. This would cover materials, exhibits, educational programming, research publications and historical items.
A Federal official may not carry out any of the following:
(2) Request, cause, direct, order, or carry out the removal, alteration, or prohibition of the content of a material, an exhibit, educational programming, a research publication, or a historical item in the Smithsonian Institution solely because the content includes a discussion or reference to a controversial or politically sensitive aspect of American history.
Covered federal officials could not condition federal funding on the Smithsonian endorsing or including a particular viewpoint. This funding restriction does not contain the “solely” qualification used in the preceding two prohibitions.
A Federal official may not carry out any of the following:
(3) Impose, as a term or condition for Federal funding, a requirement that the Smithsonian Institution endorse or include a particular viewpoint.
(1) Require the Smithsonian Institution to adopt a particular interpretation of events based solely on the political preference or belief of the official. (2) Request, cause, direct, order, or carry out the removal, alteration, or prohibition of the content of a material, an exhibit, educational programming, a research publication, or a historical item in the Smithsonian Institution solely because the content includes a discussion or reference to a controversial or politically sensitive aspect of American history.
Smithsonian employees, agents and affiliated individuals would have to report prohibited actions, attempts and threats to the Smithsonian Secretary. The Secretary would establish reporting procedures through regulations.
An employee or agent of, or an individual affiliated with, the Smithsonian Institution shall report any action described in subsection (a) or an attempt or threat to carry out such action to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in accordance with procedures to be prescribed by the Secretary through regulations.
Within 30 days after receiving a report, the Smithsonian Secretary or a designee would have to notify the House Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
Not later than 30 days after the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution receives a report under subsection (b), the Secretary, or a designee of the Secretary, shall submit to the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate a notice of the report.
The restrictions would cover the President, Vice President and people within the referenced statutory definitions of civil service or uniformed services. They would exclude the Smithsonian Secretary; Smithsonian Board of Regents members acting in their official capacity; and Smithsonian employees, agents and affiliated individuals.
In this section, the term Federal official means the President, the Vice President, or an individual in the civil service or the uniformed services, as such terms are defined in section 2101 of title 5, United States Code, who is not any of the following: (1) The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. (2) An individual who is a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, when such individual is acting in the official capacity of such member. (3) An employee or agent of, or an individual affiliated with, the Smithsonian Institution.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 28, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on House Administration on September 21, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-28T15:32:32Z. 2026-09-21: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration. 2026-09-21: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-21. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not cover other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains an institutional exemption from the bill’s principal restrictions. This classification describes the exemption and does not judge its justification.
The Smithsonian Secretary, Regents acting in their official capacity, and Smithsonian employees, agents and affiliated individuals would be excluded from the definition of officials subject to the interference prohibitions. This gives those institutional insiders an exemption directly related to the bill’s main policy. Employees, agents and affiliated individuals would still have reporting duties.
A Federal official may not carry out any of the following:
In this section, the term Federal official means the President, the Vice President, or an individual in the civil service or the uniformed services, as such terms are defined in section 2101 of title 5, United States Code, who is not any of the following: (1) The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. (2) An individual who is a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, when such individual is acting in the official capacity of such member. (3) An employee or agent of, or an individual affiliated with, the Smithsonian Institution.
An employee or agent of, or an individual affiliated with, the Smithsonian Institution shall report any action described in subsection (a) or an attempt or threat to carry out such action to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in accordance with procedures to be prescribed by the Secretary through regulations.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 28, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI