Press Releases

Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) alongside his colleague, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), introduced the Preserve Geographic Names Act to abolish the Board on Geographic Names at the Department of Interior, in response to their focus on renaming landmarks across the United States that they unilaterally deem 'offensive' or 'insensitive.'

"A Board that was originally created to uniformly name geographic locations throughout the United States has now been weaponized to rewrite our history," said Congressman Van Drew. "In the name of woke ideology, the Board on Geographic Names has shifted its primary focus towards a subjective effort to rename famous geographic landmarks that they now deem as 'insensitive.' There is absolutely zero reason taxpayers should have to pay for this lunacy - proud to introduce this piece of legislation with my colleagues."

"The Biden administration has no business meddling in the names of our towns and our heritage,” said Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger. "This administration has proven it is incapable of operating this naming commission, or any other government agency, without incorporating their extreme agenda. It's past time we eliminate politicized government offices like the Board on Geographic Names and take action to preserve our history and values."

Background: 

A notable example of this Board's actions includes the renaming of 'Squaw Valley,' the surrounding valley of where the 1960 Winter Olympics was held, and 650 other geographic features including the word 'Squaw' in the name. 

Original cosponsors of this bill include Congressmen Barry Moore (R-AL) and Jerry Carl (R-AL). 

Click here to read the bill text.