To provide for the creation of a congressional time capsule in commemoration of the semiquincentennial of the United States, and for other purposes, section 2, Sec. 2.
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Materials at high risk of degrading are barred
The document says “shall not”Who acts: Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Office of the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Office of the Majority Leader of the Senate, Office of the Minority Leader of the SenateHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“shall not be made of any organic or inorganic material that poses a high risk of degrading”
Section 2(b)(2)(B)(ii) bars any item made of organic or inorganic material that poses a high risk of degrading. The bar reaches both categories, so it does not turn on whether a material came from a living source.
What the document actually says
“shall not be made of any organic or inorganic material that poses a high risk of degrading”
That sentence, in plain words
Nothing that breaks down fast can go in. That rule covers living stuff and non-living stuff alike.
What this is about
Food, cloth, and plain paper break down. Some metals and plastics do too. The law rules out both kinds.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act, Public Law 119-79, sec. 2, 140 Stat. 748 (2026). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ79/html/PLAW-119publ79.htm
This page
“Materials at high risk of degrading are barred,” Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act, section 2, Sec. 2. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/semiquincentennial-congressional-time-capsule-act/proposal/sec02-no-degrading-materials/ (retrieved October 10, 2026).
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