Which law created the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission planning America250?

Public Law 114-196 created the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission planning America250.

Congress enacted the law in 2016 to establish a commission for the 250th anniversary of the United States. The commission was charged with encouraging and coordinating a nationwide commemoration of the semiquincentennial, including educational, historical, cultural, and civic activities.

The law’s public-law number identifies the statute within the 114th Congress. It is often discussed alongside America250, the national effort connected with the anniversary, but the commission and the broader public-facing programs are not interchangeable terms. The statute supplied the congressional foundation for planning.

The commission’s work concerns the 2026 milestone, which falls 250 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. This law is separate from legislation authorizing individual commemorative coins, stamps, or local anniversary events. Those initiatives may support the celebration without being the law that created the commission itself.