Which congressional body was established in 2016 to plan the United States’ America250 commemoration?

The United States Semiquincentennial Commission was established in 2016 to plan the America250 commemoration.

Congress created the commission through Public Law 114-196, signed in July 2016. Its assignment was to coordinate and encourage observances of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The commission was intended to work across political and geographic lines and to involve states, territories, communities, cultural organizations, and the public.

The commission’s work differs from the 1976 bicentennial effort because the anniversaries occurred fifty years apart and were organized under different congressional structures. “America250” is the public brand associated with the semiquincentennial planning effort, while the commission is the formal federal entity.

The commission held its first organizing meeting at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 2018. That location reflected the building’s connection to both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.