The founding law specifies 16 private citizens as members of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission. These members are separate from the commission’s congressional and federal-government representatives.
The law distributes appointments among the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. This structure was intended to give both major political parties a role in selecting private members and to support a bipartisan national commemoration.
The commission also includes four senators and four representatives under the original framework. Because the private citizens are not government employees, their inclusion broadens the body beyond elected officials and agency leaders.