[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1943 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1943

 To establish the Council on Improving Federal Civic Architecture, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 13, 2023

Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Hagerty, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Lee, Mr. Budd, 
and Mr. Braun) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish the Council on Improving Federal Civic Architecture, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Beautifying Federal Civic 
Architecture Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.

    It is the policy of the United States that--
            (1) applicable Federal public buildings should--
                    (A) uplift and beautify public spaces;
                    (B) inspire the human spirit;
                    (C) ennoble the United States;
                    (D) command respect from the general public;
                    (E) be visually identifiable as civic buildings; 
                and
                    (F) as appropriate, respect regional architectural 
                heritage;
            (2) architecture, with particular regard for traditional 
        and classical architecture, that meets the criteria described 
        in paragraph (1) is the preferred architecture for applicable 
        Federal public buildings;
            (3) in the District of Columbia, classical architecture is 
        the preferred and default architecture for Federal public 
        buildings absent exceptional factors necessitating another 
        style of architecture;
            (4) where the architecture of applicable Federal public 
        buildings diverges from the preferred architecture, great care 
        and consideration shall be taken to choose a design that--
                    (A) commands respect from the general public; and
                    (B) clearly conveys to the general public the 
                dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the system 
                of self-government of the United States;
            (5) when renovating, reducing, or expanding applicable 
        Federal public buildings that do not meet the criteria 
        described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3), the feasibility and 
        potential expense of building redesign to meet those criteria 
        should be examined;
            (6) where feasible and economical, a redesign described in 
        paragraph (5) should be given substantial consideration, 
        especially with respect to the exterior of the applicable 
        Federal building; and
            (7)(A) the Administration should seek input from future 
        users of applicable Federal public buildings and the general 
        public in the community where those buildings will be located; 
        and
            (B) give the input received from the general public under 
        subparagraph (A) substantial consideration before selecting an 
        architectural firm or design style for those buildings.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) 2023 dollars.--The term ``2023 dollars'' means dollars 
        adjusted for inflating using the Gross Domestic Product price 
        deflator of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, with 2023 as the 
        base year.
            (2) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
        General Services Administration.
            (3) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of General Services.
            (4) Applicable federal public building.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``applicable Federal 
                public building'' means--
                            (i) any Federal courthouse;
                            (ii) any Federal agency headquarters;
                            (iii) any public building in the District 
                        of Columbia; and
                            (iv) any other public building the cost or 
                        expected cost to design, build, and finish of 
                        which is more than $50,000,000 in 2023 dollars.
                    (B) Exclusions.--The term ``applicable Federal 
                public building'' does not include an infrastructure 
                project or land port of entry.
            (5) Brutalist.--The term ``Brutalist'' means the style of 
        architecture that grew out of the early 20th-century modernist 
        movement that is characterized by a massive and block-like 
        appearance with a rigid geometric style and large-scale use of 
        exposed poured concrete.
            (6) Classical architecture.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``classical 
                architecture'' means the architectural tradition--
                            (i) derived from the forms, principles, and 
                        vocabulary of the architecture of Greek and 
                        Roman antiquity; and
                            (ii) later developed and expanded on by--
                                    (I) Renaissance architects, 
                                including Alberti, Brunelleschi, 
                                Michelangelo, and Palladio;
                                    (II) Enlightenment masters, 
                                including Robert Adam, John Soane, and 
                                Christopher Wren;
                                    (III) 19th Century architects, 
                                including Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 
                                Louise Blanchard Bethune, Robert Mills, 
                                and Thomas U. Walter; and
                                    (IV) 20th Century practitioners, 
                                including Julian Abele, Daniel Burnham, 
                                Charles F. McKim, John Russell Pope, 
                                Julia Morgan, Robert Robinson Taylor, 
                                and the firm of Delano and Aldrich.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``Classical 
                architecture'' includes styles such as Neoclassical, 
                Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Beaux-Arts, and Art 
                Deco.
            (7) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Council on 
        Improving Federal Civic Architecture established by section 
        4(a).
            (8) Deconstructivist.--The term ``Deconstructivist'' means 
        the style of architecture--
                    (A) generally known as ``deconstructivism''; and
                    (B) that subverts the traditional values of 
                architecture through features such as fragmentation, 
                disorder, discontinuity, distortion, skewed geometry, 
                and the appearance of instability.
            (9) General public.--The term ``general public'' means 
        members of the public who are not--
                    (A) artists, architects, engineers, art or 
                architecture critics, instructors or professors of art 
                or architecture, or members of the building industry; 
                or
                    (B) affiliated with any interest group, trade 
                association, or any other organization whose membership 
                is financially affected by decisions involving the 
                design, construction, or remodeling of public 
                buildings.
            (10) Officer.--The term ``officer'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 2104 of title 5, United States Code.
            (11) Preferred architecture.--The term ``preferred 
        architecture'' means the architecture described in section 
        2(2).
            (12) Public building.--The term ``public building'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 3301(a) of title 40, United 
        States Code.
            (13) Traditional architecture.--The term ``traditional 
        architecture'' includes--
                    (A) classical architecture; and
                    (B) the historic humanistic architecture, including 
                Gothic, Italianate, Renaissance Revival, Romanesque, 
                Pueblo Revival, Spanish Colonial, and other styles of 
                architecture historically rooted in various regions of 
                the United States.

SEC. 4. COUNCIL ON IMPROVING FEDERAL CIVIC ARCHITECTURE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Council on Improving 
Federal Civic Architecture.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) In general.--The Council shall be composed of--
                    (A) the Chair of the Commission of Fine Arts 
                serving in that position on the date of enactment of 
                this Act;
                    (B) any individual who served as Chair of the 
                Commission of Fine Arts before the date of enactment of 
                this Act, if that individual chooses to serve on the 
                Council;
                    (C) the Secretary of the Commission of Fine Arts;
                    (D) the Architect of the Capitol (or a designee);
                    (E) the Commissioner of the Public Building Service 
                of the Administration;
                    (F) the Chief Architect of the Administration; and
                    (G) not more than 10 individuals, to be evenly 
                appointed by the Chair of the Committee on Environment 
                and Public Works of the Senate and the Chair of the 
                Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
                House of Representatives, from among citizens of the 
                United States that are not employees or officers of the 
                Federal Government.
            (2) Chair.--
                    (A) In general.--The Council shall be chaired by an 
                individual described in any of subparagraphs (A) 
                through (G) of paragraph (1), who shall be elected by 
                the Council.
                    (B) Vice chair; subcommittees.--The Chair of the 
                Council may--
                            (i) designate a Vice Chair; and
                            (ii) establish subcommittees.
            (3) Certain members.--Members of the Council described in 
        paragraph (1)(G)--
                    (A) shall serve on the Council until the date on 
                which the Council terminates under subsection (e); and
                    (B) shall not be removed except for inefficiency, 
                neglect of duty, or malfeasance.
            (4) Compensation.--
                    (A) No compensation.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), a member of the Council shall receive 
                no compensation as a result of serving on the Council.
                    (B) Travel expenses.--A member of the Council shall 
                be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 
                of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of 
                agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 
                United States Code, while away from their homes or 
                regular places of business in the performance of 
                services for the Council.
    (c) Duties of Council.--The Council shall--
            (1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, and annually thereafter until the date on which the 
        Council terminates under subsection (e), submit to the 
        Administrator a report recommending updates to policies, 
        procedures, or practices of the Administration that--
                    (A)(i) identifies any policies, procedures, or 
                practices of the Administration that do not adhere to 
                sections 2 and 5; and
                    (ii) recommends updates to those policies, 
                procedures, and practices to align those policies, 
                procedures, and practices with those sections;
                    (B) analyzes the design for any new applicable 
                Federal public building and, if necessary, recommends 
                changes so that the applicable Federal public building 
                adheres to sections 2 and 5; and
                    (C) analyzes all applicable Federal public 
                buildings, including the architectural styles of those 
                buildings, and recommends redesigns, if any, to align 
                those buildings with section 2; and
            (2) recommend to the Administrator changes to 
        Administration policies for situations in which the 
        Administration participates in a design selection pursuant to 
        chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Commemorative Works Act''), in furtherance of the 
        purposes of this Act and consistent with applicable law.
    (d) Applicability.--Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code 
(commonly known as the ``Federal Advisory Committee Act''), shall apply 
to the Council.
    (e) Termination.--The Council shall terminate on the date that is 5 
years after the date on which the Council holds the initial meeting of 
the Council.

SEC. 5. GSA REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall adhere to the policy of 
the United States described in section 2.
    (b) Notification.--
            (1) In general.--If the Administrator proposes to approve a 
        design for a new applicable Federal public building that 
        diverges from the preferred architecture, including Brutalist 
        or Deconstructivist architecture or any design derived from or 
        related to those styles of architecture, the Administrator 
        shall submit to the Assistant to the President for Domestic 
        Policy and the appropriate committees of Congress, not later 
        than 30 days before the date on which the Administrator could 
        reject the design without incurring substantial expenditures, a 
        notification in accordance with paragraph (2).
            (2) Requirements.--A notification submitted under paragraph 
        (1) shall describe the reasons the Administrator proposes to 
        approve a design described in that paragraph, including--
                    (A) a detailed explanation of why the Administrator 
                believes selecting the design is justified, with 
                particular focus on whether the design is as beautiful 
                and reflective of the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and 
                stability of the system of self-government in the 
                United States as alternative designs of comparable cost 
                using preferred architecture;
                    (B) the total expected cost of adopting the 
                proposed design, including estimated maintenance and 
                replacement costs throughout the expected lifecycle of 
                the design;
                    (C)(i) a description of the designs using preferred 
                architecture seriously considered for the project, 
                including copies of blueprints or renderings of those 
                designs that have been produced; and
                    (ii) the total expected cost of adopting those 
                designs, including estimated maintenance and 
                replacement costs throughout the expected lifecycles of 
                those designs; and
                    (D) the steps that the Administrator took to 
                solicit and consider the views of the general public 
                about the design.

SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    Not less frequently than once annually, the Administrator shall 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that 
includes--
            (1) a detailed explanation of the steps the Administrator 
        has taken to adhere to sections 2 and 5;
            (2) a detailed explanation of the steps the Administrator 
        has taken to adopt recommendations made by the Council in a 
        report submitted under section 4(c)(1); and
            (3) a list of all applicable Federal public buildings that 
        the Federal Government owns and a description of the 
        architectural style of those buildings.
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