H.R. 2196: National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Extension Act
Sponsor
Richard Hudson
Republican · NC-9
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Mar 17, 2026
Passed the House, received in Senate
The national EMS memorial gets a second chance
Why it matters
Congress authorized a national memorial in Washington for emergency medical services workers back in 2018, but that permission came with a seven-year clock that is nearly up. H.R. 2196 restarts the clock from the day it becomes law, giving the foundation behind the project a fresh window to lock down a site, finish the design, and raise the private money to build it. The House passed it by voice vote in March 2026, and it now sits in the Senate.
H.R. 2196 is a deadline reset. In 2018, Congress gave the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation the legal go-ahead to build a commemorative work in the Washington area. That kind of authorization comes with a clock — seven years to get the memorial established — and that clock is running out.
This bill restarts it. Instead of counting from the 2018 law, the seven-year window would run from the day H.R. 2196 is enacted, buying the project a fresh stretch of time.
It does not spend federal money on construction. Memorials like this are paid for by the groups that champion them, not the Treasury, so the foundation still has to raise the funds and win sign-off from the agencies that control what gets built in the capital.
What the bill protects is permission. Without the extension, the authorization lapses and the effort would likely have to restart the long approval process from scratch.
H.R. 2196 Bill Summary
What H.R. 2196 actually does.
The seven-year clock starts over
H.R. 2196 resets the deadline for establishing the memorial so it runs seven years from the date this bill is enacted, instead of from the original 2018 authorization.
The memorial stays in the Washington area
The extension covers a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its surrounding area, keeping the project inside the federal commemorative-works process.
No taxpayer money goes to construction
The bill extends a legal deadline. It does not create a grant program or appropriate any federal money to design or build the memorial.
Reviewers work from the new deadline
Federal agencies handling the memorial's approvals would apply the new seven-years-after-enactment timeline rather than the earlier one.
Who benefits from H.R. 2196?
EMS workers and the families of fallen responders
Paramedics, EMTs, and the families of responders killed on the job would keep the chance to see a national memorial finished instead of watching the authorization quietly expire.
The National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation
The foundation gets more time to handle site selection, design approvals, and the fundraising needed to actually build the memorial.
Future visitors to Washington
If the project is completed, people visiting the capital would have a permanent place recognizing emergency medical service alongside the country's other public-safety memorials.
Who is affected by H.R. 2196?
Federal commemorative-works reviewers
The agencies that approve what gets built in the capital would work from the new seven-year deadline if H.R. 2196 becomes law.
Donors and supporters of the memorial
Backers of the project would get additional time to raise money toward a memorial that stays legally authorized.
Anyone expecting federal construction funding
This bill provides no federal dollars for construction. It only extends the legal authority for the effort to continue.
What Congress Is Saying
H.R. 2196 has come up 13 times in the Congressional Record so far.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2196, to extend and authorize the commemorative work to complete the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial, and urge the House to pass this bill. The authorization for work on the memorial expired in November of 2025, and at no cost to the taxpayer, this bill simply allows the Foundation to continue their donations and work on the memorial in Washington. Each year across our Nation, the 850,000 men and women of EMS answer more than 30 million calls to serve 22 million patients at a moment's notice.
H.R. 2196 also appeared in 1 more House floor reference and 3 routine cosponsor filings.
HR2196 Legislative Journey
Committee Action
Mar 17, 2026
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
House: Vote Held
Mar 16, 2026
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2523)
House: Committee Action
Feb 24, 2026
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-518.
House: Passed Committee
Feb 11, 2026
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
+2 more actions this day
House: Committee Action
Sep 18, 2025
Subcommittee Hearings Held
House: Committee Action
Sep 11, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
House: Committee Action
Mar 18, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
About the Sponsor
Richard Hudson
Republican, North Carolina's 9th congressional district · 13 years in Congress
Committees: Energy and Commerce
View full profile →
Cosponsors (6)
This bill has 6 cosponsors: 5 Democrats, 1 Republican, reflecting bipartisan support. Cosponsors represent 4 states: Colorado, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and 1 more.
Committee Sponsors
Energy and Natural Resources Committee
0 of 20 committee members cosponsored
No committee members have cosponsored this bill
Natural Resources Committee
3 of 45 committee members cosponsored
35 Republicans across these committees haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
What laws does H.R. 2196 change?
1 changes
Sections Amended
Section 1(b) of Public Law 115-275
striking the period at the end and inserting ``, except that any reference in section 8903(e) of that chapter to the expiration at the end of or extension beyond a seven-year period shall be considered to be a reference to an expiration on or extension beyond the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Extension Act
H.R. 2196 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Energy and Natural Resources
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Introduced
- Mar 18, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
Mar 17, 2026
Official Sources
Official bill page with status, text, actions, and related legislative information for the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Extension Act.
The original 2018 law authorizing the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish the commemorative work; Section 1(b) is the provision H.R. 2196 amends.
Section 8903(e) holds the seven-year expiration rule that the bill's text directly re-times to seven years after this Act's enactment.
The full Commemorative Works Act chapter governing how memorials are authorized, sited, designed, and built in Washington, D.C. and its environs.
Explains the National Capital Planning Commission's role in reviewing and approving the site and design of memorials like this one on federal land in D.C.
Walks through how a sponsoring group moves a commemorative work from authorization to a built memorial, the process the EMS foundation must still complete.
The House Natural Resources Committee report accompanying H.R. 2196, including the CBO finding that the bill has a negligible effect on federal spending.
Congressional Budget Office estimate for the identical Senate companion bill, confirming the memorial extension would have a negligible cost to taxpayers.
H.R. 2196 Common Questions
What does H.R. 2196 actually do?
It resets the deadline for building a national EMS memorial in Washington. The foundation behind it would get seven years from the day this bill becomes law to get the memorial established.
Why does the EMS memorial need an extension?
Congress authorized it in 2018 with a seven-year clock to get it built. That window is nearly up, and the memorial isn't finished, so the bill restarts the clock before the authorization expires.
Does H.R. 2196 pay for the EMS memorial?
No. The bill puts no federal money toward construction. Memorials like this are funded privately by the sponsoring foundation, which still has to raise the money on its own.
Where would the EMS memorial be located?
In the District of Columbia and its surrounding area — essentially the greater Washington, D.C., area, where federally approved commemorative works are sited.
Who is behind the EMS memorial?
The National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation, the group Congress authorized in 2018 to establish the memorial. This bill extends that group's window to finish the job.
What happens if H.R. 2196 doesn't pass?
The 2018 authorization would lapse. Supporters say the memorial effort would then likely have to restart the federal approval process from the beginning to keep going.
Has H.R. 2196 passed Congress yet?
Not yet. The House passed it by voice vote in March 2026. It's now in the Senate, referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Based on H.R. 2196 bill text
H.R. 2196 Bill Text
“To provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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