Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick helped House Republicans narrowly pass a bill Thursday that directs the heads of federal agencies to update their documents and maps so that the Gulf of Mexico is renamed the Gulf of America.
The “Gulf of America Act” passed 211-206 nearly along party lines, with Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon as the lone Republican “no” vote.
“It just seems juvenile,” Bacon told CNN. “We’re the United States of America. We’re not Kaiser Wilhelm’s Germany or Napoleon’s France. I just – we’re better than this. It just sounds like a sophomore thing to do.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order during his first day in office to rename the body of water that has shared borders between the United States and Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years.
“The Gulf of America is one of the most important things we can do this Congress,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), the bill’s sponsor, adding that it promotes pride in the country.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) disagrees.
“It’s easy to mock this legislation because it’s so inane and embarrassing — and we have,” said Rep. Scanlon. “But its very existence and the fact that House Republicans have chosen to waste time and taxpayer dollars to bring it up for a vote, is worth considering.”
In early February, a poll conducted by Marquette University showed the order was opposed by 71 percent of the public. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change.
Fitzpatrick, a self-described moderate, represents Pennsylvania’s first congressional district and is co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus. Eight Democrats and eight Republicans did not vote.
The bill now moves to the Senate.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.
