[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 6]
[Chapter 4.  House Facilities and Capitol Grounds]
[A. Introductory]
[Â§ 1. In General; Care, Protection and Use]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 269-271]
 
                               CHAPTER 4
 
                  House Facilities and Capitol Grounds
 
                            A. INTRODUCTORY
 
Sec. 1. In General; Care, Protection and Use



    The manner in which a particular facility of the House may be used 
is frequently regulated by a federal statute, federal judicial 
decision, House rule, or precedent of the House. The discussion in this 
chapter emphasizes those facilities that are regulated by one or more 
of the above. While the creation of several special select committees 
to oversee the management of certain designated House facilities is 
described below,(1) standing committee jurisdiction over the 
various House facilities is discussed elsewhere.(2)
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 1. See Sec. 1.1, infra.
 2. See Ch. 17, infra.
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    Numerous statutory enactments(3) provide for the care, 
protection, and use of the Capitol building and grounds. The Architect 
of the Capitol(4) supervises the care and superintendence of 
the Capitol Building,(5) including care of the 
exterior,(6) repairs,(7) and in the House side of 
the Capitol the lighting, heating, and ventilating.(8) He 
also carries into effect the provision prohibiting the use of the 
Capitol rooms for private studios or works of art, without permission 
from the Joint Committee on the Library.(9)
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 3. See 40 USC Sec. Sec. 161-217a.
 4. For a description of the powers and duties of the Architect of the 
        Capitol see 40 USC Sec. 162 (1970).
 5. 40 USC Sec. 163 (1970).
 6. 40 USC Sec. 163a (1970).
 7. 40 USC Sec. 166 (1970).
 8. 40 USC Sec. 167 (1970).
 9. 40 USC Sec. 190 (1970).
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    Privately-owned works of art may not be exhibited in Statuary Hall, 
the Rotunda, nor in the corridors of the Capitol. 40 USC Sec. 189 
(1970). National Statuary Hall, however, may be used for ceremonies 
when special permission is given by the Speaker. See Ch. 36, infra.
    The responsibility for policing the Capitol buildings and grounds 
is vested in the Capitol Police, under the direction of the Capitol 
Police Board.(10) On several ex

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traordinary occasions, however, Federal troops have been called to 
protect the Capitol.(11)
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10. 40 USC Sec. 212a (1970). The Capitol Police Board consists of the 
        Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate, the Sergeant at 
        Arms of the House of Representatives, and the Architect of the 
        Capitol. 40 USC Sec. 212a (1970).
11. See Sec. 1.2, infra.
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    The protection of the Capitol building and grounds(12) 
is regulated by statutory provisions(13) that limit the 
conduct and activities which are permitted to occur there. Public use 
of the Capitol grounds is generally confined to paved 
areas,(14) and the roads on the grounds may not be occupied 
in such manner as to obstruct or hinder their proper 
use.(15) Sales and solicitations are forbidden, as are 
advertising displays.(16) A provision also makes punishable 
climbing upon, removing or damaging any property or plant life on the 
Capitol grounds.(17) The unauthorized presence upon the 
floor of either House, in the gallery of either House, or in any room 
within any of the Capitol buildings designated for the use of any 
Member, committee, subcommittee, or employee of either House of 
Congress is statutorily prohibited.(18)
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12. The area comprising the Capitol grounds is described at 40 USC 
        Sec. 193a (1970).
13. 40 USC Sec. Sec. 193a-193m (1970).
14. 40 USC Sec. 193b (1970).
15. 40 USC Sec. 193c (1970).
16. 40 USC Sec. 193d (1970).
17. 40 USC Sec. 193e (1970).
18. 40 USC Sec. 193f(b)(1)-(3) (1970).
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Creation of Select Committees

Sec. 1.1 The House sometimes creates a special select committee to 
    manage or oversee the operation of a designated House facility.

    On Dec. 6, 1967,(19) the House adopted a resolution 
creating a select committee to manage the House Beauty Shop. The 
resolution vested complete managerial authority in the three-member 
committee, which was to be appointed by the Speaker. The select 
committee was made permanent by Pub. L. No. 91-145 (83 Stat. 347).
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19. 113 Cong Rec. 35143, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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    The House has adopted similar resolutions on several other 
occasions. In the 90th Congress(20) the House adopted a 
resolution creating a select committee to regulate parking on the House 
side of the Capitol. In the 91st Congress(1) the House 
established a select committee to oversee the management of the House 
Restaurant.(2)
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20. 113 Cong. Rec. 17791, 17792, 90th Cong. 1st Sess., June 28, 1967.
 1. 115 Cong. Rec. 19080, 19081, 91st Cong. 1st Sess., July 10, 1969.
 2. The responsibility for the management of the House Restaurant is, 
        by statute, vested in the Architect of the Capitol. 40 USC 
        Sec. 174k (1970). The Committee on House Administration has 
        jurisdiction of measures relating to the House Restaurant. Rule 
        XI clause 9(1), House Rules and Manual Sec. 693 (1973). The 
        Select Committee on the House Restaurant, which supervises the 
        operation of the restaurant, now operates under the authority 
        of the Committee on House Administration. House Rules and 
        Manual Sec. 695 (1973).

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Protection of Capitol by Federal Troops

Sec. 1.2 Federal troops have been called upon to guard the Capitol and 
    its facilities on several extraordinary occasions.

    On Apr. 5, 1968, in response to the widespread civil disorder that 
arose in the District of Columbia following the assassination of Dr. 
Martin Luther King in Memphis, Tennessee, the preceding day, President 
Lyndon B. Johnson issued an executive order(3) authorizing 
the Secretary of Defense to mobilize National Guard Troops and to order 
regular armed forces into the District of Columbia to restore law and 
order, protect government property and prevent interference with 
governmental activities. The Capitol was one of the first areas secured 
when the troops arrived on Friday, Apr. 5. Troops remained on duty at 
the Capitol until Friday, Apr. 12, when they were withdrawn on order of 
the Secretary of Defense.
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 3. Executive Order No. 11403, 33 Fed. Reg. (1968).
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    The deployment of troops was in accordance with the Emergency Plan 
for Protection of the Capitol, which had been previously approved by 
the Speaker of the House and the Vice President of the United States. 
Specific authority was neither requested by nor received from the 
Speaker or other Capitol officials prior to the assignment of troops to 
guard the Capitol.
    On Feb. 25, 1943,(4) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, from 
the floor of the House, defended his policy of having the Capitol 
protected by federal soldiers for a time during World War II:
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 4. 89 Cong. Rec. 1324, 78th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, I am utterly amazed at my colleague from 
    Minnesota, a man usually of splendid judgment and absolute 
    fairness.
        We have on this hill $180,000,000 worth of property. . . .
        . . . It happens to be the business of the Speaker of the House 
    of Representatives to protect the property on this hill, and it 
    cannot be protected by a few Metropolitan Police. . . . [S]ome day 
    or some night somebody may come into this building and destroy a 
    million dollars worth of property. As long as I have the 
    responsibility, I am going to keep somebody here to protect these 
    buildings.

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