Biden signs 50 bills into law on Christmas Eve, including making Bald Eagle national bird

The slew of new laws comes a day after the president vetoed a separate bipartisan bill that would have created dozens of new federal judge posts, claiming it failed to "resolve key questions in the legislation." The bill was passed shortly before Congress left for the year.

By Misty Severi

Published: December 24, 2024 10:09pm

Updated: December 25, 2024 9:17am

President Joe Biden on Tuesday night signed 50 bills into laws, including a bill that officially makes the Bald Eagle the national bird, and a bill championed by Paris Hilton that protects children at treatment and care centers.

The slew of laws comes a day after the president vetoed a separate bipartisan bill that would have created dozens of new federal judge posts, claiming it failed to "resolve key questions in the legislation." The bill was passed shortly before Congress left for the year.

One of the new laws designated the bald eagle as the national bird of the United States. The legislation was passed unanimously by the Senate in July, and passed in a voice vote in the House last week.

The eagle has been considered a national symbol since the Second Continental Congress put the bird on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782, but was never officially declared the national bird under U.S. Law until Tuesday. It was passed under the same chapter of U.S. law that designates “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem, “In God we trust” as the national motto, and “The Stars and Stripes Forever” as the national march.

Another major bill that was passed was Hilton's "Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act," which establishes a Federal Work Group for youth residential programs that works to ensure facilities are implementing best practices for their patients. The group will also provide recommendations for federal oversight in the future, according to The Hill.

A third major legislation was a bill that requires public colleges to include campus hazing incidents in its annual security report.

He also signed multiple legislation that renamed federal buildings, including post offices. One post office in San Francisco will be renamed to honor the late-California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

A full list of the new laws can be found here.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.