Skip to main content
H.R. 3776 116th Congress House

Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression (CHANGE) Act

Official title: To prohibit Executive agencies from using the derogatory term "alien" to refer to an individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States, to amend… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To prohibit Executive agencies from using the derogatory term "alien" to refer to an individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States, to amend chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, to establish a uniform definition for the term "foreign national", and for other purposes.

Introduced: July 16, 2019 Introduced by: Joaquin Castro Democratic · Texas See on congress.gov
Immigration Administrative law and regulatory proceduresBorder security and unlawful immigrationGovernment information and archivesImmigration status and procedures
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Aug 6, 2019
Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
Jul 16, 2019
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jul 16, 2019
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action August 6, 2019

Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression (CHANGE) Act

This bill prohibits any executive agency from using the term alien to refer to an individual who is not a U.S. citizen or national, or illegal alien to refer to such an individual who is unlawfully present in the United States or lacks lawful immigration status. This prohibition does not apply when quoting certain texts.

The bill (1) establishes a uniform definition for the term foreign national when used in acts of Congress and agencies; (2) replaces alien with foreign national in federal government documents, including statutes and regulations; and (3) replaces illegal alien with undocumented foreign national in such documents.

Under the bill, a foreign national is any individual other than an individual (1) who is a citizen of the United States; or (2) though not a citizen of the United States, who owes permanent allegiance to the United States.

 Related & companion bills 3
  • HR 457 Reintroduced Bill Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression (CHANGE) Act
  • HR 6637 Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2020
  • S 4819 Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2020
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 3
 Cosponsors 23
All 23 Democratic 18
D
Sánchez, Linda T.
California · Feb 26, 2020
 D
Brownley, Julia
California · Aug 6, 2019
 D
Escobar, Veronica
Texas · Aug 6, 2019
 D
Schakowsky, Janice D.
Illinois · Aug 6, 2019
 D
Aguilar, Pete
California · Jul 18, 2019
ROYBAL-ALLARD, LUCILLE
· Jul 18, 2019
 D
Wasserman Schultz, Debbie
Florida · Jul 18, 2019
Cárdenas, Tony
· Jul 16, 2019
 D
Correa, J. Luis
California · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Espaillat, Adriano
New York · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Gallego, Ruben
Arizona · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Garcia, Sylvia R.
Texas · Jul 16, 2019
 D
García, Jesús G. "Chuy"
Illinois · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Grijalva, Raúl M.
Arizona · Jul 16, 2019
Mucarsel-Powell, Debbie
· Jul 16, 2019
Napolitano, Grace
· Jul 16, 2019
 D
Norton, Eleanor Holmes
District of Columbia · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Omar, Ilhan
Minnesota · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Soto, Darren
Florida · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Trahan, Lori
Massachusetts · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Vargas, Juan
California · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Veasey, Marc A.
Texas · Jul 16, 2019
 D
Velázquez, Nydia M.
New York · Jul 16, 2019
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3776: Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression (CHANGE) Act. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3776/
MLA
"H.R. 3776: Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression (CHANGE) Act." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3776/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 3776, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3776/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 3776: Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression (CHANGE) Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3776/)
Report a problem