[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 188 (Tuesday, November 28, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H13681-H13682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   EXPRESSING THANKS AND GOOD WISHES TO HON. GEORGE M. WHITE ON HIS 
                 RETIREMENT AS ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

  Mr. THOMAS of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to 
take from the Speaker's table the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. 
Res. 33) expressing the thanks and good wishes of the American people 
to Hon. George M. White on the occasion of his retirement as the 
Architect of the Capitol, and ask for its immediate consideration in 
the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate concurrent resolution.
  The text of the Senate concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 33

       Whereas at its inception, the Capitol of the United States 
     of America was blessed to rise under the hand of some of this 
     Nation's greatest architects, including Dr. William Thornton, 
     Benjamin Henry Latrobe, and Charles Bullfinch;
       Whereas prior to the Honorable George Malcolm White, FAIA, 
     being appointed by President Nixon on January 27, 1971, it 
     had been 106 years since a professional architect had been 
     named to the post of Architect of the Capitol;
       Whereas Mr. White has served the Congress through an 
     unprecedented period of growth and modernization, using to 
     advantage his professional accreditation in architecture, 
     engineering, law, and business;
       Whereas Mr. White has prepared the Capitol Complex for the 
     next century by developing the ``Master Plan for the Future 
     Development of the Capitol Grounds and Related Areas'';
       Whereas Mr. White has added new buildings to the Capitol 
     grounds as authorized by Congress, including the Thurgood 
     Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, the Philip A. Hart 
     Senate Office Building, and the Library of Congress James 
     Madison Memorial Building, and through acquisition and 
     renovation, the Thomas P. O'Neill and Gerald R. Ford House 
     Office Buildings, the Webster Hall Senate Page Dormitory, and 
     the Capitol Police Headquarters Building;
       Whereas Mr. White has preserved for future generations the 
     existing historic fabric of the Capitol Complex by faithfully 
     restoring the Old Senate Chamber, the Old Supreme Court 
     Chamber, National Statuary Hall, the Brumidi corridors, the 
     Rotunda canopy and frieze, the West Central Front and 
     Terraces of the Capitol, the House Monumental Stairs, the 
     Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson and John Adams 
     Buildings, and the Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol Dome;
       Whereas Mr. White has greatly contributed to the 
     preservation and enhancement of the design of the District of 
     Columbia through his place on the District of Columbia Zoning 
     Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts, the Pennsylvania 
     Avenue Development Corporation, and other civic organizations 
     and commissions; and
       Whereas upon Mr. White's retirement on November 21, 1995, 
     he leaves a legacy of tremendous accomplishment, having made 
     the Capitol his life's work and brought to this century the 
     erudition and polymath's capacity of our first Architects: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the thanks and good wishes of the American 
     people are hereby tendered to the Honorable George M. White, 
     FAIA, on the occasion of his retirement from the Office of 
     the Architect of the Capitol after nearly a quarter-century 
     of outstanding service to this nation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barr). Is there objection to the request 
of the gentleman from California?
  Mr. FAZIO of California. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, 
and I will not object, but I yield to my friend, the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Thomas], who might like to make some comments on the 
legislation.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, after almost 25 years the Architect of the 
Capitol, George M. White, has retired. His retirement date was November 
21. This resolution was passed in the Senate on the 20th of November, 
and we are just now getting around to giving the recognition that Mr. 
White deserves. We may certainly be recognizing his retirement after 
the fact, but at least it is not posthumously.
  Mr. White was appointed Architect of the Capitol in 1971 by President 
Richard Nixon. He was only the ninth Architect of the Capitol in the 
history of the United States. Mr. White's credentials were virtually 
unique. He holds both a bachelor and master's degree of science from 
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  He holds a master's in business administration from Harvard, and he 
has a law degree as well, a juris doctorate.
  In the time that George White has been Architect of the Capitol, the 
Capitol as we now know it evolved. There was no Hart Building. George 
White oversaw the construction of the third Senate Office Building. 
Anyone taking a tour of the Capitol today may not know that George 
White was responsible for the restoration of the old Senate Chamber or 
the old Supreme Court chamber, the restoration of the sandstone on the 
west front of the Capitol, and currently the renovation of the east 
monumental stairs in front of the House wing of the Capitol. Visitors 
may not realize how much he has contributed to the ongoing preservation 
of the Capitol.
  The most well-publicized and perhaps unique event occurring under 
George White's tenure as Architect was the removal from the Capitol 
dome of the statue Freedom by helicopter, placing it on the east front, 
and carrying out a restoration on this very identifiable symbol of the 
Capitol. Then, after restoration, with great precision and accuracy, 
placing Freedom back on the Capitol to be preserved for an open-ended 
amount of time, the first time the statue had been refurbished in 130 
years.
  So, although it may be after the fact, our sincerity in wishing 
George White many happy years and many pleasant memories goes from this 
body to him. I thank the gentleman from California for yielding time to 
me.
  Mr. FAZIO of California. Mr. Speaker, if I could continue to speak on 
my reservation briefly, I want to add my congratulations to George 
White, who perhaps had more impact on this monument that we work on 
here, this entire complex in Capitol Hill, than many, many Members of 
Congress of greater renown.
  George White was the last Architect of the Capitol to be appointed by 
a President, without any advice or consent of Congress, to an open-
ended term. His 25 years here already marked by many accomplishments: 
the Madison Building of the Library of Congress, the effort to house 
the new Senate Office Building, and to build buildings for all judicial 
offices, all of which were contemporary buildings of real merit.
  I believe his greatest contribution was to restore the Library of 
Congress to a jewel-like facility, which I think is one of the most 
appreciated buildings in the country, and certainly one of the most 
important period pieces in American architectural history.
  Mr. White has seen a transition in the office that he headed, and now 
he will be succeeded by an individual who will have a new challenge, 
the management and maintenance of the facilities as well as the 
architectural development of the Capitol. They will be a 

[[Page H 13682]]
seminal element in the development of this city and the Capitol 
complex. He deserves the commendation this resolution provides.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The Senate concurrent resolution was concurred in. A motion to 
reconsider was laid on the table.

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