Why It Matters
None of the 13 memorials in progress under the Commemorative Works Act is under construction, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
Congress has authorized 48 works in the District of Columbia and its environs since 1986, and CRS counts eight with lapsed authorizations and one with a repealed authorization. Sponsors have seven years to dedicate a work, a period that can be extended by statute or by an Interior Department construction permit. In every case to date, the report says, the Secretary of the Interior has been the oversight official.
The Big Picture
The report names three hurdles: settling on a site, winning design approval and raising money. It says failure to raise funds can be used as a reason not to extend an authorization. It also says the Reserve, created in 2003, makes a National Mall site difficult, which pushes sponsors toward nearby locations.
Recent actions show where Congress is still involved. President Donald Trump signed a law on Sept. 10 placing the Medal of Honor Memorial in the Reserve. H.R. 1664 authorized the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish that work and became law on Dec. 27, 2021.
On Sept. 11, H.R. 2196, the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Extension Act, became Public Law 119-107. It reauthorized the emergency medical services memorial through Sept. 11, 2033, after its authorization expired on Nov. 3, 2024.
H.R. 2306, the Adams Memorial-Great American Heroes Act, would extend the Adams Memorial Commission to 2032 and offer Reserve site choices. The House passed it Dec. 10, 2025, after the commission's authorization was set to expire on Dec. 2, 2025. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on July 21 and ordered the bill reported with an amendment on Sept. 30.
The Global War on Terrorism Memorial has a Reserve location under a 2021 law signed by then-President Joe Biden. H.R. 873 authorized the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation to establish it and became law on Aug. 18, 2017.
Federal review bodies are moving designs. The National Capital Planning Commission approved the Peace Corps memorial's final site development plans on Dec. 5, 2024, and the Texas Legation Memorial's on June 5, 2025. It approved the Fallen Journalists Memorial's preliminary plans on Dec. 4, 2025, with comments.
The Bottom Line
The nearest authorization deadline in the report is Sept. 30, 2027, when the National Mall Liberty Fund's authority to build the National Liberty Memorial in Area I ends. Authority for the Peace Corps memorial runs to Jan. 24, 2028.
Extending either date takes a construction permit or new legislation. The Adams measure, H.R. 2306, still needs further Senate action.
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