Italian Heroes and Heritage Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5739 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5739

  To prohibit Federal funds from being provided to any State or local 
 government that celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus 
                      Day, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 10, 2025

  Mr. Rulli introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit Federal funds from being provided to any State or local 
 government that celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus 
                      Day, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Italian Heroes and Heritage Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Christopher Columbus set sail 533 years ago in 1492 to 
        bravely cross the Atlantic Ocean and discovered new land that 
        would soon after become known as America.
            (2) President Benjamin Harrison founded Christopher 
        Columbus day in 1892 to honor Christopher Columbus's voyage and 
        the 11 Italian-Americans murdered by a New Orleans lynch mob 
        due to suspicion and hatred of Italian-Americans.
            (3) The 11 people brutally murdered were Italian-American 
        cobbler Pietro Monasterio; fruit importer Joseph P. Macheca; 
        fruit peddlers Antonio Bagnetto, Antonio Marchesi, Antonio 
        Scaffidi; rice plantation laborer Charles Traina; stevedores 
        James Caruso and Rocco Geraci; street vendor Emmanuele Polizzi; 
        tinsmith Loreto Comitis; and ward politician Frank Romero.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that October 
13th should continue to be celebrated nationwide as Christopher 
Columbus Day, as it has been since 1892, to honor our Italian-American 
heritage and our forefather, Christopher Columbus, who helped to 
discover this great land.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PROVIDING FEDERAL FUNDS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 
              THAT CELEBRATE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY INSTEAD OF COLUMBUS 
              DAY.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the 1-year 
period beginning after October 13, 2025, and each Columbus Day (as 
described in section 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code) 
thereafter, no Federal funds may be obligated, expended, or otherwise 
dispursed to any State or unit of local government that celebrates 
Indigenous Peoples Day in lieu of Columbus Day.
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