I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3627 
To establish the President’s Council on Improving Federal Civic Architecture, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 24, 2023 
Mr. BANKS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To establish the President’s Council on Improving Federal 
Civic Architecture, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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’’. 
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; 
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(C) ennoble the United States; 
(D) command respect from the general 
public; 
(E) be visually identifiable as civic build-
ings; and 
(F) as appropriate, respect regional archi-
tectural heritage; 
(2) architecture, with particular regard for tra-
ditional 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 archi-
tecture 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 architec-
ture, 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; 
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(5) when renovating, reducing, or expanding ap-
plicable Federal public buildings that do not meet 
the criteria described in paragraph (1), the feasi-
bility 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 substan-
tial consideration, especially with respect to the exte-
rior of the applicable Federal building; and 
(7) 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 before selecting an architec-
tural firm or design style and give the general 
public’s input substantial consideration. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 2023 DOLLARS.—The term ‘‘2023 dollars’’ 
means dollars adjusted for inflation using, with 
2023 as the base year, the Gross Domestic Product 
price deflator of the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 
(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra-
tion’’ means the General Services Administration. 
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(3) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv-
ices. 
(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 in-
frastructure 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 character-
ized by a massive and block-like appearance with a 
rigid geometric style and large-scale use of exposed 
poured concrete. 
(6) CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘classical ar-
chitecture’’ 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, in-
cluding Alberti, Brunelleschi, Michel-
angelo, and Palladio; 
(II) Enlightenment masters, in-
cluding Robert Adam, John Soane, 
and Christopher Wren; 
(III) 19th Century architects, in-
cluding Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 
Robert Mills, Louise Blanchard Be-
thune, and Thomas U. Walter; and 
(IV) 20th Century practitioners, 
including 
Julian 
Abele, 
Daniel 
Burnham, Charles F. McKim, Robert 
Robinson Taylor, John Russell Pope, 
Julia Morgan, and the firm of Delano 
and Aldrich. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Classical ar-
chitecture’’ includes styles such as Neoclassical, 
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Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Beaux-Arts, 
and Art Deco. 
(7) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 
President’s Council on Improving Federal Civic Ar-
chitecture established by section 4(a). 
(8) 
DECONSTRUCTIVIST.—The 
term 
‘‘Deconstructivist’’ means the style of architecture— 
(A) 
generally 
known 
as 
‘‘deconstructivism’’; and 
(B) that emerged during the late 1980s 
that subverts the traditional values of architec-
ture through features such as fragmentation, 
disorder, discontinuity, distortion, skewed geom-
etry, 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 ar-
chitecture 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 de-
cisions involving the design, construction, or re-
modeling of applicable Federal public buildings. 
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(10) OFFICER.—The term ‘‘officer’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 2104 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(11) PREFERRED
ARCHITECTURE.—The term 
‘‘preferred architecture’’ means the architecture de-
scribed in section 2(2). 
(12) PUBLIC
BUILDING.—The term ‘‘public 
building’’ has the meaning given such term in sec-
tion 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, Romanesque, Pueblo Revival, 
Spanish Colonial, and other Mediterranean 
styles of architecture historically rooted in var-
ious regions of America. 
SEC. 4. PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL ON IMPROVING FEDERAL 
CIVIC ARCHITECTURE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 
President’s Council on Improving Federal Civic Architec-
ture. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be com-
posed of— 
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(A) the chair of the Commission of Fine 
Arts; 
(B) all prior living chairs of the Commis-
sion of Fine Arts who elect to serve; 
(C) the Secretary of the Commission of 
Fine Arts; 
(D) the Architect of the Capitol; 
(E) the Commissioner of the Public Build-
ing Service of the Administration; and 
(F) the Chief Architect of the Administra-
tion. 
(2) CHAIR.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be 
chaired by an individual described in paragraph 
(1)(A), who shall be designated by the Presi-
dent. 
(B) VICE
CHAIR; SUBCOMMITTEES.—The 
Chair of the Council may— 
(i) designate a Vice Chair; and 
(ii) establish subcommittees. 
(3) COMPENSATION.— 
(A) NO COMPENSATION.—Except as pro-
vided in subparagraph (B), a member of the 
Council shall receive no compensation as a re-
sult of serving on the Council. 
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(B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the 
Council shall be allowed travel expenses, includ-
ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au-
thorized for employees of agencies under sub-
chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
Code, while away from their homes or regular 
places of business in the performance of serv-
ices for the Council. 
(c) DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL.—The Council shall— 
(1) not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of this Act, submit to the Administrator a 
report recommending updates to policies and proce-
dures of the Administration that— 
(A) incorporates the policy of the United 
States described in section 2, including how the 
recommended updates to policies and proce-
dures will accomplish such policy; and 
(B) advances the purposes of this Act, in-
cluding how those recommendations accomplish 
those purposes; 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 
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Works Act’’), in furtherance of the purposes of this 
Act and consistent with applicable law. 
(d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT; STAFF.— 
(1) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—On request of 
the Council, the Administrator shall provide funding 
and administrative and technical support to the 
Council. 
(2) STAFF.—The Administrator— 
(A) shall direct employees of the Adminis-
tration to provide any relevant information the 
Council requests; and 
(B) may detail those employees to aid in 
the work of the Council, on request of the 
Council. 
(e) FACA FUNCTIONS.—Any functions of the Presi-
dent under chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, ex-
cept for the reporting to Congress under section 1005(b) 
of that title, shall be performed by the Administrator in 
accordance with guidelines and procedures established by 
the Administrator. 
(f) TERMINATION.—The Council shall terminate on 
the date that is 5 years after the date on which the Council 
first meets. 
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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 pro-
poses to approve a design for a new applicable Fed-
eral 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 Domes-
tic Policy, the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Accountability of the House 
of Representatives not later than 30 days before the 
date on which the Administrator could reject the de-
sign without incurring substantial expenditures a no-
tification in accordance with paragraph (2). 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A notification submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall describe the reasons the 
Administrator proposes to approve a design de-
scribed in that paragraph, including— 
(A) a detailed explanation of why the Ad-
ministrator believes selecting the design is justi-
fied, with particular focus on whether the de-
sign is as beautiful and reflective of the dignity, 
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enterprise, vigor, and stability of the system of 
self-government in the United States as alter-
native designs of comparable cost using pre-
ferred architecture; 
(B) the total expected cost of adopting the 
proposed design, including estimated mainte-
nance and replacement costs throughout the ex-
pected lifecycle of the design; and 
(C)(i) a description of the designs using 
preferred architecture seriously considered for 
the project; and 
(ii) the total expected cost of adopting 
those designs, including estimated maintenance 
and replacement costs throughout the expected 
lifecycles of those designs. 
SEC. 6. SAVINGS PROVISION. 
Nothing in this Act— 
(1) impairs or otherwise affects— 
(A) the authority granted by law to an ex-
ecutive department or agency, or the head 
thereof; or 
(B) the functions of the Director of the Of-
fice of Management and Budget relating to 
budgetary, administrative, or legislative pro-
posals; or 
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(2) creates any right or benefit, substantive or 
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
party against— 
(A) the United States, including— 
(i) any department, agency, or entity 
of the United States; or 
(ii) any officer, employee, or agent of 
the United States; or 
(B) any other person. 
SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
On an annual basis, the Administrator shall submit 
to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs a report about the 
promulgation of this Act, detailing adherence to the policy 
of the United States described in section 2. 
Æ 
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