2019 PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILIT Y REPORT An Executive Summary of the AOC’s Financial and Performance Results i

Performance and Accountability Highlights

FISCAL YEAR ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

2019

SERVE • PRESERVE • INSPIRE
About the Architect of the Capitol

Who We Are: The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) cares for more 

than 18.4 million square feet of facilities, more than 570 acres of 

grounds and thousands of works of art. The AOC’s employees 

work behind the scenes day and night to provide Congress and 

the Supreme Court with facilities and infrastructure to conduct 

their business. We inspire the public by providing tours and 

exhibits of the U.S. Capitol and the surrounding grounds and the 

U.S. Botanic Garden.

Established: The AOC traces its beginnings to 1793 and was 

formally established by congressional legislation in 1876.

Branch of Government: Legislative

Leadership: Thomas J. Carroll III, Acting Architect of the Capitol

Number of Permanent Employees: 2,236 as of September 30, 2019

FY 2019 Budget Authority: $733.7 million

Mission: Serve Congress and the Supreme Court, preserve 

America’s Capitol and inspire memorable visitor experiences.

Performance and 

Accountability Highlights

FISCAL YEAR 2019

FIGURE 1 Map of the Capitol Campus

Did You Know?

The AOC serves as steward for the U.S. Capitol Building, 

the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, the House and Senate office 

buildings, the Library of Congress buildings, the U.S. Supreme 

Court Building, the U.S. Botanic Garden, the Capitol Power 

Plant and other surrounding grounds and facilities. The major 

facilities on the Capitol campus that fall under the AOC’s care 

are depicted in Figure 1. A virtual tour of the Capitol campus 

is available at www.capitol.gov. 

To learn more about the Architect of the Capitol, please view our 

video We Are AOC: www.aoc.gov/video/we-are.
Performance Results in Brief 

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, the AOC tracked progress toward four 

strategic goals: (1) Maintain Awe-Inspiring Facilities, (2) Provide 

Extraordinary Services, (3) Foster an Innovative and Empowered 

Workforce and (4) Operate as One Team, Dedicated to One 

Mission. Eight strategic objectives, 16 strategies and 31 key 

performance indicators (KPIs) support the goals. The high-level 

KPIs, measuring the agency’s most critical actions taken in line 

with the Strategic Plan, are summarized in Table 1. 

TABLE 1 Summary of High-Level Key Performance Indicators

HIGH-LEVEL KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR

FY 2018

TARGET

FY 2018

ACTUAL

FY 2018 

RESULTS

FY 2019 

TARGET

FY 2019 

ACTUAL

FY 2019 

RESULTS

STRATEGIC GOAL: MAINTAIN AWE-INSPIRING FACILITIES

Energy and Sustainability Targets. Reduce energy 

intensity use, reduce potable water use, divert building 

occupancy waste, compost nonconstruction waste and 

divert construction and demolition debris.

5 of 5 

Component 

Targets Met

4 of 5 

Component 

Targets Met

Not Met

5 of 5 

Component 

Targets Met

4 of 5 

Component 

Targets Met

Not Met

New! Gardens and Grounds Standards Established. 

Establish AOC-wide Gardens and Grounds Standards.

New measure 

for FY 2019

New measure 

for FY 2019 N/A Establish Standards

Standards Not 

Established Not Met

STRATEGIC GOAL: PROVIDE EXTRAORDINARY SERVICES

New! Customer Experience Program. Establish and 

develop the customer experience program.

New measure 

for FY 2019

New measure 

for FY 2019 N/A Establish Program

Program 

Established Met

Customer Satisfaction with Projects. Maintain high 

customer satisfaction with projects. ≥ 90.0% 94.7% Met ≥ 90.0% 95.2% Met

STRATEGIC GOAL: FOSTER AN INNOVATIVE AND EMPOWERED WORKFORCE

Favorability Ranking in Best Places to Work. Improve 

the AOC’s ranking in the Partnership for Public Service Best 

Places to Work in the Federal Government.

N/A N/A N/A > Prior Survey 

(> 11th) 9th Met

Employee Nonmandatory Training. Provide training to 

employees in knowledge, skills and abilities applicable to 

their responsibilities.

N/A N/A N/A 33.3% 36.4% Met

Injuries and Illnesses Rate. Reduce the annual injuries 

and illnesses rate.* ≤ 2.37 2.33 Met ≤ 2.33 2.23 Met

STRATEGIC GOAL: OPERATE AS ONE TEAM, DEDICATED TO ONE MISSION

Employees Placed in Cross-Organizational 

Opportunities. Business units place the equivalent 

of 2 percent of their workforce in cross-organizational 

opportunities.

100% 100% Met 100% 100% Met

View the AOC’s FY 2019 performance highlights video: 

www.aoc.gov/PAR 

* Information adjusted from that reported in the FY 2018 PAR.
Financial Results in Brief 

As evidence of our commitment to financial accountability and 

transparency, in FY 2019, the AOC:

 Earned its 15th consecutive unmodified (clean) audit opinion 

on the financial statements

 Received its eighth consecutive Certificate of Excellence in 

Accountability Reporting (CEAR) award from the Association 

of Government Accountants plus a special CEAR award for 

the best recognition of employees’ contributions to the 

fulfillment of the agency’s mission

 Deployed the SATO E2 Solutions Travel System program 

that allows AOC employees to benefit from federalwide 

standardized travel management practices, improving the 

control of travel spending

 Implemented a new Funding Authorization Document 

management process to provide an improved online system 

for the administrative control of funds

TABLE 2 Select Financial and Related Nonfinancial 

Data ($ in Millions)

FY 2019 FY 2018 PERCENT 

CHANGE

Total Assets $3,384.4 $3,220.0 5%

Total Liabilities $409.4 $404.1 1%

Total Net Position $2,975.0 $2,815.9 6%

Total Revenues $69.1 $63.9 8%

Total Net Cost of 

Operations $609.5 $550.6 11%

Total Enacted 

Appropriations $733.7 $712.1 3%

Facility Space 

Managed (sq. ft.)

More than 18.4 

Million

More than 18.4 

Million -%

Grounds

Managed (acres) More than 570 More than 570 -%

Permanent Employees 

at Fiscal Year-End 2,236 2,193 2%

FIGURE 2 Summary of Total Assets

FIGURE 4 Trend in Total Enacted Appropriations

TABLE 3 Independent Auditor’s Internal 

Control Findings

CATEGORY FY 2019 FY 2018

Material Weaknesses None None

Significant Deficiencies None None

FIGURE 3 Summary of Total Liabilities

As of September 30, 2019, the AOC's federal employee benefits 

accounted for approximately 21 percent of total liabilities.

In FY 2019, the AOC received an additional $21 million or 2.9 percent 

increase over FY 2018 enacted appropriations.

As of September 30, 2019, the AOC's property, plant and equipment 

represented nearly two-thirds of the agency’s total assets.
The AOC’s Performance and Accountability Report includes forward-looking information regarding the future effects of existing, currently known demands, risks, 

uncertainties, events, conditions and trends. The backlog in deferred maintenance and capital renewal projects is one of the management challenges identified.

Forward-Looking Information in Brief

The AOC has identified the following as the agency’s most 

significant challenges for FY 2020 and beyond:

Backlog in Deferred Maintenance and Capital Renewal Projects.

Resource constraints have deferred maintenance and delayed 

important capital renewal work causing deterioration of 

buildings and grounds. Significant investments are needed 

for preservation and to ensure the future safety of building 

occupants and visitors. As of September 30, 2019, the AOC’s total 

backlog was estimated at $1.77 billion.

Campus Security. The AOC is responsible for supporting the 

U.S. Capitol Police and providing security functions around 

the Capitol campus. The AOC continues to focus on meeting 

security requirements while also ensuring that safety, 

preservation and accessibility needs are met.

Energy Stewardship and Sustainability. The AOC targets 

energy use reductions on an annual basis. This fiscal year, the 

AOC completed its first full year of the Capitol Power Plant’s 

cogeneration system operations. This program — coupled with 

the Refrigeration Plant Revitalization Program and planned 

upgrades for the Library of Congress’ facilities — will enable 

further energy efficiencies. 

Management of Concurrent Construction Projects. The AOC 

is concurrently undertaking multiple major construction, 

renewal and restoration projects. To ensure success, the AOC 

must establish that each project is delivered safely, is high 

quality, remains on time and within budget and with minimal 

disruptions to the agency’s clients.

Attracting and Retaining a Skilled and Engaged Workforce.

The AOC requires a high-performing and engaged workforce 

to achieve its mission and deliver services to stakeholders. The 

AOC’s human capital strategy includes attrition management 

and efforts to attract and retain talented staff. 

Workplace Safety and Health. The AOC is responsible for 

ensuring that safety and health standards are met for those 

who work at or visit the Capitol campus. The AOC does this 

while addressing operational needs, applicable regulations and 

challenging working conditions that are unique to Capitol Hill.

The AOC’s Inspector General identified additional management 

opportunities and performance challenges facing the 

organization: auditability and documentation to support 

decisions, cybersecurity, lack of whistleblower protection, 

property accountability and surplus property disposal, 

managing user-requested changes on construction projects, 

balancing safety and security with preservation and heritage, 

and duplication of effort without a working capital fund.

The AOC Performance and Accountability Highlights provides 

a brief summary of the AOC’s FY 2019 Performance and 

Accountability Report, following the Citizen-Centric Reporting 

model established by the Association of Government 

Accountants. The full report is available online at: www.aoc.

gov/performance-accountability-report.

For more information about the Architect of the Capitol, visit 

our website at:

www.aoc.gov.

This report is 

issued with data 

as of November 

18, 2019
vi An Executive Summary of the AOC’s Financial and Performance Results ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

U.S. Capitol | Washington, DC 20515

www.aoc.gov

The complete FY 2019 AOC 

Performance and Accountability Report is available online at:

www.aoc.gov/PAR

SERVE | PRESERVE | INSPIRE