Rep. Bruce Westerman Supports Renaming Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America'

Support for the Gulf of America Act

• 🗣️ Representative Bruce Westerman expresses strong support for HR276, the Gulf of America Act of 2025.
• 📜 This legislation aims to codify President Trump's Executive Order 14172, which renamed the body of water from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
• 🏛️ The act seeks to ensure consistency in official references to this body of water across laws, maps, regulations, and records.

Historical Precedent for Renaming

• 📜 Throughout U.S. history, presidents have altered the names of American lands and waters.
• ✍️ This legislation is presented as a necessary step to permanently enact the renaming into law.

Economic and Energy Significance

• ⛽ The Gulf of America is crucial to the U.S. economy, contributing significantly to crude oil production (14%), refining capacity (48%), and natural gas processing (51%).
• ⚡ The region is highlighted as central to achieving American energy dominance, a priority of the Trump administration.
• 🎣 Beyond energy, the Gulf supports vital industries such as commercial and recreational fishing, tourism, and is a highly productive ecosystem.

Reinforcing Benefits to the United States

• 💡 The legislation and the executive order are seen as embracing the numerous ways the Gulf of America powers the American economy.
• 🤝 It is stated that Americans have historically been the primary drivers of the Gulf's economic value, and this act reinforces the benefits this resource provides to the United States.
• ✅ Westerman urges his colleagues to support the bill, noting that the US Geological Survey's Board on Geographic Names has already begun implementing the executive order.