I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7637 

To establish a New Executive Workgroup for the White House as an Iconic 

Treasure Expressing Honor, Obligation, Unity, Strength, and Excellence 

of our Nation (a New White House) to develop a plan to replace the 

existing White House with a new residence and working space for the 

President, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 16, 2020 

Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Reform 

A BILL 

To establish a New Executive Workgroup for the White 

House as an Iconic Treasure Expressing Honor, Obligation, Unity, Strength, and Excellence of our Nation (a 

New White House) to develop a plan to replace the 

existing White House with a new residence and working 

space for the President, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘New Executive Workgroup for the White House as an 

6 Iconic Treasure Expressing Honor, Obligation, Unity, 


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1 Strength, and Excellence of our Nation Act’’ or the ‘‘New 

2 White House Act’’. 

3 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

4 (1) In 1789, the United States became the 

5 world’s first modern national constitutional republic. 

6 (2) In 1791, the Nation’s first president, 

7 George Washington, selected the site for the White 

8 House, and the cornerstone was laid in 1792, after 

9 a competition design submitted by Irish-born archi10 tect James Hoban was chosen. 

11 (3) The security of the White House and the 

12 First Family has always been of utmost importance 

13 to the Nation. 

14 (4) The security needs of the White House have 

15 evolved along with the Nation. As conditions war16 ranted, the White House has been modified in order 

17 to meet these evolving needs. 

18 (5) In 1808, the first fence around the White 

19 House was constructed under the oversight of 

20 Thomas Jefferson’s administration. This fence was 

21 constructed of wooden split-rail barriers on three 

22 sides of the grounds and a retaining wall on the 

23 other side which bordered the Potomac River wet24 lands. 


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1 (6) In the 1930s, the wrought-iron fence of the 

2 19th century was replaced by a steel fence tipped 

3 with tall bronze spears. 

4 (7) The current fence is about 7-feet tall and 

5 there are plans to install a taller one in 2018. 

6 (8) During World War II, security became es7 pecially strict. The remaining gaps in the White 

8 House fence were closed and access to the driveways 

9 was restricted. At the same time, the gates to the 

10 White House grounds were reinforced. 

11 (9) In 1983, following a truck-bomb attack on 

12 the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon, low concrete 

13 walls were put up around the White House. 

14 (10) With the rise of vehicle traffic in Wash15 ington DC, bollards—sturdy, vertical posts—were 

16 added to prevent security breaches by automobiles. 

17 (11) In 1950, an assassination attempt on 

18 President Harry S. Truman further raised concerns 

19 over the safety of the President. 

20 (12) In the 20th century, there were numerous 

21 instances of the White House perimeter being 

22 breached by those who wished to reach the Presi23 dent. 

24 (13) On April 13, 1912, Michael Winter made 

25 it several feet inside the front door of the White 


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1 House before being stopped by staff. This was his 

2 second attempt to reach President William Howard 

3 Taft. 

4 (14) On September 26, 1963, Doyle Allen 

5 Hicks rammed his pickup truck through the White 

6 House gates and drove 25 feet into the North Por7 tico main entrance. He intended to reach President 

8 John F. Kennedy. 

9 (15) On February 17, 1974, Robert K. Preston, 

10 an Army private, stole a helicopter from Fort 

11 Meade, Maryland. He hovered over the Washington 

12 Monument and the White House grounds before 

13 leading two State police helicopters on an aerial 

14 chase around Maryland and Washington, DC. Pres15 ton then returned to the White House and officers 

16 were forced to shoot at the helicopter. Preston was 

17 upset about flunking out of flight school. 

18 (16) On February 22, 1974, Samuel Joseph 

19 Byck tried to hijack a Delta passenger jet at Balti20 more-Washington International Airport. His inten21 tion was to crash the jet into the White House. He 

22 forced his way onto the plane and killed an airport 

23 policeman and the copilot before being shot by po24 lice. 


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1 (17) On December 25, 1974, Marshall Fields 

2 crashed his automobile through the Northwest Gate 

3 of the White House and drove close to the North 

4 Portico. He threatened to detonate explosives which 

5 he had strapped to his body. Fields surrendered to 

6 officials after hours of negotiation. 

7 (18) In October 1978, Anthony Henry scaled 

8 the White House fence while wielding a knife. He 

9 slashed two officers before White House guards were 

10 able to subdue him. He intended to find President 

11 Jimmy Carter. 

12 (19) On September 12, 1994, Frank Eugene 

13 Corder stole a Cessna plane and entered the prohib14 ited airspace around the White House. He crashed 

15 on the lawn just south of the Executive Mansion. 

16 (20) On October 29, 1994, Francisco Martin 

17 Duran, armed with a semiautomatic rifle, fired over 

18 29 rounds at the White House from the sidewalk on 

19 Pennsylvania Avenue. He intended to kill President 

20 Bill Clinton. 

21 (21) On May 23, 1995, Leland W. Modjeski 

22 climbed over the White House fence and ran towards 

23 the White House with a handgun. He was shot by 

24 the Secret Service. 


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1 (22) On September 11, 2001, President George 

2 W. Bush was taken to an undisclosed location due 

3 to security concerns at the White House following 

4 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pen5 tagon. 

6 (23) A 2015 House of Representatives report 

7 showed that there were 104 attempted breaches of 

8 White House security between April 2005 and April 

9 2015. 

10 (24) On November 11, 2011, Oscar Ramiro Or11 tega-Hernandez fired an assault rifle at the White 

12 House. He hit the residential wing of the building at 

13 least seven times. This attack was not immediately 

14 detected and Ortega-Hernandez was not found and 

15 arrested for 5 days. 

16 (25) On January 26, 2015, the Secret Service 

17 was forced to lock down the White House due to a 

18 drone flying above the White House grounds. The 

19 drone crashed on the Southeast side of the complex. 

20 (26) On November 26, 2015, a man draped in 

21 an American flag jumped the White House fence 

22 during a Thanksgiving celebration at the Executive 

23 Residence. 

24 (27) It is now time to build an Executive Office 

25 and Residence which takes modern national security 


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1 concerns into account and will be able to serve the 

2 Office of the President far into the future. 

3 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

4 There is established the Commission for the Con5 struction of a Modern Executive Mansion and Office Com6 plex for the President (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Com7 mission’’). 

8 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

9 The Commission shall carry out the following duties: 

10 (1) The development of a plan, including a site 

11 selection plan, to replace the existing White House 

12 with a new residence and working space for the 

13 President in the District of Columbia which meets 

14 modern standards for security, access, and the needs 

15 of the President and the President’s staff. 

16 (2) The development of a plan (including a plan 

17 for fundraising) for the preservation of the docu18 ments, artifacts, and artworks which reflect the his19 tory of the existing White House and for making 

20 such items accessible for public viewing, including by 

21 establishing a museum, with the goal of promoting 

22 public knowledge of the history of the White House 

23 and the individuals, including family members of the 

24 Presidents, who lived and worked there. 


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1 (3) The development of a plan for the tem2 porary relocation of the residence and working space 

3 of the President and the President’s staff while the 

4 new residence and working space is under construc5 tion. 

6 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

7 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

8 shall be composed of the following members: 

9 (1) Each living former President (as of the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act) or the living former 

11 President’s designee. 

12 (2) The Administrator of General Services or 

13 the Administrator’s designee. 

14 (3) The Secretary of Homeland Security or the 

15 Secretary’s designee. 

16 (4) Each former Director of the Secret Service 

17 who served during the term of office of President 

18 George W. Bush or President Barack Obama. 

19 (5) The Archivist of the United States or the 

20 Archivist’s designee. 

21 (6) A representative of each Presidential library 

22 which is not administered by the National Archives 

23 and Records Administration though the Office of 

24 Presidential Libraries. 


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1 (7) One individual appointed by the President 

2 from among a list provided by the Speaker of the 

3 House of Representatives. 

4 (8) One individual appointed by the President 

5 from among a list provided by the minority leader of 

6 the House of Representatives. 

7 (9) One individual appointed by the President 

8 from among a list provided by the majority leader of 

9 the Senate. 

10 (10) One individual appointed by the President 

11 from among a list provided by the minority leader of 

12 the Senate. 

13 (11) One individual appointed by the President 

14 with expertise in the field of historic preservation. 

15 (12) One individual appointed by the President 

16 with expertise in the field of civil engineering. 

17 (13) One individual appointed by the President 

18 with expertise in the field of landscape architecture 

19 and botany. 

20 (14) One individual appointed by the President 

21 with expertise in the field of security. 

22 (b) TIME OF APPOINTMENT.—Each initial appoint23 ment of a member of the Commission shall be made before 

24 the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (c) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the 

2 life of the Commission. 

3 (d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall 

4 not affect the powers of the Commission but shall be filled 

5 in the manner in which the original appointment was 

6 made. 

7 (e) BASIC PAY.—Members shall serve on the Com8 mission without pay. 

9 (f) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive 

10 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 

11 in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, 

12 United States Code. 

13 (g) CHAIR.—The Commission shall select a Chair 

14 from among the members of the Commission. 

15 (h) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

16 call of the Chair. 

17 SEC. 5. DIRECTOR AND STAFF. 

18 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission may appoint and 

19 fix the pay of a Director and such additional personnel 

20 as the Commission considers to be appropriate. 

21 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

22 LAWS.— 

23 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Director of the Commis24 sion may be appointed without regard to the provi25 sions of title 5, United States Code, governing apVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637

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1 pointments in the competitive service, and may be 

2 paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 

3 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title relat4 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates. 

5 (2) STAFF.—The staff of the Commission shall 

6 be appointed subject to the provisions of title 5, 

7 United States Code, governing appointments in the 

8 competitive service, and shall be paid in accordance 

9 with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 

10 of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification 

11 and General Schedule pay rates. 

12 (c) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon the re13 quest of the Chair of the Commission, the head of any 

14 Federal department or agency may detail, without reim15 bursement, any of the personnel of that department or 

16 agency to the Commission to assist in carrying out its du17 ties under this Act. 

18 SEC. 6. POWERS. 

19 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 

20 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold such 

21 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 

22 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

23 considers to be appropriate. 

24 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem25 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 


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1 Commission, take any action that the Commission is au2 thorized to take by this Act. 

3 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

4 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 

5 United States information necessary to enable the Com6 mission to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chair 

7 of the Commission, the head of that department or agency 

8 shall furnish that information to the Commission. 

9 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

10 States mails in the same manner and under the same con11 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

12 States. 

13 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

14 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen15 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim16 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec17 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 

18 under this Act. 

19 (f) DONATIONS.—The Commission may accept dona20 tions of supplies, money, and services to carry out its re21 sponsibilities. 

22 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

23 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub24 mit to Congress such interim reports as the Commission 

25 considers to be appropriate. 


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1 (b) FINAL REPORT.—The Commission shall submit 

2 a final report to Congress not later than 2 years after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. The final report shall 

4 contain final versions of the plans the Commission is re5 quired to develop under section 3, together with such other 

6 information and recommendations as the Commission con7 siders appropriate with respect to such plans. 

8 SEC. 8. TERMINATION. 

9 The Commission shall terminate 120 days after sub10 mitting the final report of the Commission under section 

11 7. 

12 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

14 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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