Gulf of America Act: A New Name for a Historic Body of Water

The Gulf of America Act, H.R. 276, was recently passed by Congress and signed into law. The bill renames the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America". Here's what you need to know about this new legislation.

Section 1: Short Title

This Act may be cited as the “Gulf of America Act”.

Section 2: Renaming of Gulf of Mexico as "Gulf of America"

The Gulf of Mexico shall be known as the “Gulf of America”.

Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico shall be deemed to be a reference to the “Gulf of America”.

The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Chairman of the Board on Geographic Names, shall oversee the implementation of the renaming with respect to each Federal document and map.

Implementation

• In General.—The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Chairman of the Board on Geographic Names, shall oversee the implementation of the renaming described in subsection (a) with respect to each Federal document and map.
• Requirement.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the head of each Federal agency shall update each document and map of the Federal agency in accordance with the renaming described in subsection (a).

About the Bill

The Gulf of America Act was introduced on May 8, 2025, and passed by the House of Representatives. The bill was signed into law on May 12, 2025.

Direct Link to the Bill:

https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hr276pcs