The legislation that officially recognizes Haliaeetus leucocephalus as the national bird was among the 50 bills that President Biden signed into law on his final Christmas Eve in the Oval Office.
On his last Christmas Eve in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden enacted 50 bills into law. These included provisions to designate the bald eagle as the nation’s official bird, prevent convicted Congress members from receiving pensions, establish the first federal anti-hazing standard for colleges, and limit federal agencies from creating “unnecessary reports.”
Additional legislation passed by the president on December 24 encompassed resolutions to name federal facilities and post offices, alongside laws aimed at enhancing accountability for youth care and treatment centers.
Senate Bill 4610 formally identifies the bald eagle as the national bird, clarifying an assumption that had existed but lacked formal acknowledgment for nearly 250 years.
Co-sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Markwayne Mullen (R-Okla.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), this bill was passed by the Senate in July and by the House on December 16.
The legislation affirms that “bald eagles are a historical symbol of the United States, embodying independence, strength, and freedom; the bald eagle is indigenous to North America; its image remains the foremost insignia for all branches of the United States military.”
It also highlights that on June 20, 1782, the bald eagle was established as the Coat of Arms for the United States Great Seal, yet no formal language had been implemented to officially name it as the national bird.
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The new legislation addresses this gap by amending Chapter 3 of Title 36, United States Code to state, “The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is the national bird.”
Senate Bill 1351, known as the “Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act,” establishes a federal working group dedicated to monitoring youth residential programs to ensure the safety, health, care, treatment, and placement of minors in rehabilitation and similar programs.
This bill boasted 24 bipartisan co-sponsors and was approved in the House with a vote of 373-33 on December 18, following unanimous consent in the Senate.
Prominent socialite and activist Paris Hilton played an important role in the legislation, testifying before the House Ways & Means Committee in July about the mistreatment and abuse she alleged to have faced in treatment facilities.
House Bill 5646, the “Stop Campus Hazing Act,” co-sponsored by Representatives Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) and Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) along with 57 additional co-sponsors, passed through both chambers via unanimous voice votes.
The act, motivated by a report from North Carolina State University revealing the prevalence of hazing across numerous college campuses, mandates that federally funded higher education institutions disclose hazing incidents reported to campus or local law enforcement in their annual security reports starting January 1, 2025.
Additionally, the president signed SB 932, dubbed the “No CORRUPTION Act,” which bars members of Congress “convicted of crimes pertinent to public corruption” from receiving retirement benefits. This legislation—formally named the “No Congressionally Obligated Recurring Revenue Used As Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Act”—was passed by the Senate in July and by the House on December 16.
Celebrity hotel heiress Paris Hilton poses for photographs outside the U.S. Capitol to show her support for the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, on Dec. 17, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
This new legislation eliminates a loophole that permitted lawmakers to continue receiving pension payments while appealing convictions, an oversight revealed during the investigation into Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who was found guilty in July for accepting bribes linked to his political influence.
House Bill 5301, known as the “Eliminate Useless Reports Act,” aims to improve the efficiency of federal reporting by requiring federal agencies to provide a catalog of outdated or redundant reports in their annual budget justifications.
This bill, introduced in 2023 by Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) with backing from co-sponsors Representatives Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) and Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), was approved by the House in November and by the Senate on December 11.
The president also signed a series of bills to rename local post offices in Texas and California, including a San Francisco post office honoring the late Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who passed away in September 2023.
