Gulf of America Act
Click any stage to learn more about the legislative process.
Would officially rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" in all federal laws, maps, regulations, and documents, and would require every federal agency to update its records within 180 days of enactment.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would formally rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" and declare that any existing reference to the Gulf of Mexico in federal law, regulations, maps, documents, or records automatically refers to the new name. It would direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Chairman of the Board on Geographic Names, to oversee implementation of the rename across all federal documents and maps. Each federal agency head would be required to complete updates to agency-specific documents and maps within 180 days of enactment.
The bill applies only to official U.S. federal records and nomenclature — it would not compel other countries, international bodies, or private entities to adopt the new name.
Key provisions
- 1Would formally rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" and deem all existing federal references to the Gulf of Mexico to mean the Gulf of America.
- 2Would direct the Secretary of the Interior, through the Board on Geographic Names, to oversee implementation of the rename across all federal documents and maps.
- 3Would require the head of each federal agency to update all agency documents and maps to reflect the new name within 180 days of enactment.
Who would be affected
All federal agencies that maintain maps, documents, regulations, or other records referencing the Gulf of Mexico, including the Department of the Interior and its Board on Geographic Names. State governments, private map publishers, and international bodies are not directly required to make changes.
Why it matters
Federal agencies would face a binding 180-day deadline to update potentially thousands of official documents, maps, and regulatory records. The change would alter the formal U.S. government name for a major body of water, though its practical reach stops at the boundaries of U.S. federal records and would not affect how Mexico, Cuba, or international organizations refer to the same body of water.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for each federal agency to update all documents and maps with the new name
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates the Gulf of America Act would cost less than $500,000 over the 2025–2030 period, with no effect on revenues and no meaningful effect on the deficit.
H.R. 276 would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" and require federal agencies, under the oversight of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, to update their documents and maps accordingly. CBO estimates that implementing those updates would cost less than $500,000 over the 2025–2030 period, subject to appropriated funds (discretionary spending that Congress must separately authorize each year). The bill could also affect direct spending (mandatory outlays) at agencies that fund operations through fees and other collections, but CBO estimates any such changes would be negligible. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How implementation would work
The Secretary of the Interior, through the Board on Geographic Names — the federal body that standardizes geographic names for official U.S. use — would oversee the rename across federal documents and maps. Each federal agency head would independently be responsible for updating all agency documents and maps within 180 days of enactment. The bill sets the deadline but does not specify a reporting or compliance-verification mechanism.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 73.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill renames the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and directs federal agencies to update their documents and maps to incorporate the new name.
Legislative subjects
Geography and mapping; Gulf of Mexico; Public Lands and Natural Resources
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-85