I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3612 
Making emergency appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
2016, to address needs of the Federal judiciary serving the border 
region between the United States and Mexico, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2015 
Mr. CUELLAR (for himself, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. HURD of Texas, Mr. CASTRO 
of Texas, and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
Making emergency appropriations for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2016, to address needs of the Federal 
judiciary serving the border region between the United 
States and Mexico, 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. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States District Court for the 
Western District of Texas (in this Act referred to as 
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the ‘‘Western District’’) has jurisdiction over Fed-
eral criminal matters involving a majority of the 
Texas-Mexico border region. United States-Mexico 
border-related criminal activities pose an enormous 
challenge to the Western District, where the case-
load involving border-related crimes has crowded the 
docket in recent years. These challenges are con-
fronted by the judiciary at the John H. Wood, Jr. 
U.S. Courthouse, in San Antonio (in this Act re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Wood Courthouse’’), a building 
which was not designed to serve as a courthouse, is 
not equipped with adequate security features, and 
has fallen into disrepair to a degree that places 
human health and safety in jeopardy. 
(2) The Wood Courthouse was originally de-
signed and constructed to serve as a temporary pa-
vilion for the 1968 World’s Fair. Consistently one of 
the busiest courts in the Nation, the courthouse has 
been remodeled several times over the last 45 years 
to accommodate the ever increasing number of 
judges and staff—expanding from an initial 2 
United States District Court Judges and a staffing 
level of 24, to the current 7 judges and over 280 
staff. The workload of the Western District has 
grown significantly over the years, in large part due 
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to an increased number of criminal cases, including 
those related to drug trafficking and gang activity 
along the border region. 
(3) The Wood Courthouse’s inadequate security 
features lead to judges, United States Marshals, ju-
dicial staff, and jurors routinely facing defendants 
charged with violent crimes in corridors, elevators, 
and entryways. The courthouse has no security sally 
port. Judges, employees, and prisoners all use the 
same entrance to access the courthouse. 
(4) Other Wood Courthouse security-related 
concerns include the following: The current building 
has inadequate vehicle gates. Cell block doors and 
walls are not built to institution standards. There is 
little to no fencing surrounding the property, and 
nearly the complete circumference of the building is 
easily accessible by foot. There are no barriers sur-
rounding the property. The facility’s intrusion detec-
tion system fails to meet minimum standards. Co-
operating prisoners and other prisoners or gang 
members in protective custody cannot be adequately 
segregated. There is only one room available for at-
torneys to meet with their clients—a room that is 
also used by pretrial officers and probation officers 
for interviews. Conversations can be overhead by 
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others, including conversations addressing becoming 
a cooperating witness in the prosecution of others. 
The operations area for the deputy marshals to con-
duct their work is insufficient and the control room 
(providing audiovisual control of the building and ex-
terior) is both inadequate and contains obsolete 
equipment. Judges, staff, and jurors very often en-
counter criminal defendants in the corridors because 
of these serious security lapses. 
(5) Even if some of the problems identified 
above were remedied, the 1968 theatre design of the 
building cannot be reconfigured to address the secu-
rity problems inherent in the structure. 
(6) Environmental contamination, as well as 
aging, deteriorated drinking water facilities, pose ur-
gent public health concerns in the Wood Courthouse. 
Water sampling conducted in the courthouse build-
ing in July and August 2015 found high levels of 
lead and bacteria in 9 of the building’s sources of 
drinking water, including 5 water fountains and 2 
break room sinks. Health regulations classify lead 
concentrations of more than 15 parts per billion as 
unacceptable; the testing found levels ranging from 
2 to 6 times higher than 15 parts per billion. An 
August 25, 2015, water sampling revealed that 7 of 
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25 samples contained unacceptable levels of lead. 
Two of the 25 samples tested unacceptable for high 
levels of iron. Three of the 25 samples tested unac-
ceptable for high levels of bacteria. The Federal Oc-
cupational Health office within the Department of 
Health and Human Services has confirmed that 8 
water fountains or faucets test unacceptable because 
of high levels of lead, iron, or both. Lead is highly 
toxic and can cause kidney and blood pressure prob-
lems in adults. In children, lead can lead to delays 
in physical and mental development. The source of 
contamination in the Wood Courthouse is currently 
undetermined. Tests indicate that drinking water 
piped into the Wood Courthouse is not contami-
nated. Contamination could be related to pipes with-
in the building, or to pipes that connect to the un-
derground water main. 
(7) The Wood Courthouse has serious HVAC 
deficiencies. There are a total of 14 air handlers in 
the building. One of the air handlers is broken and 
out of service. Two other air handlers are original 
1968 or 1975 equipment. They all are rotten and 
leak. The thermostats that are supposed to electroni-
cally control the building’s HVAC system have not 
worked for over 4 years. Louvers in the building are 
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manually adjusted to balance the air sent to the 
courtrooms or offices which cause wild temperature 
fluctuations. In the crawl space located below the 
courthouse, the pipes leak. When it rains, water ac-
cumulates. The building’s fresh air passes through 
the crawl space and then flows into the building and 
the air is impacted by the mold in the air handlers 
and duct systems. Additionally, electrical wires in 
the crawl space are exposed to the mold and water 
accumulation. There is no separate prisoner elevator, 
separate prisoner circulation, and concomitant se-
cure air exhaust or germicidal systems. Any prisoner 
with a communicable airborne disease can infect the 
entire building. 
(8) There is consensus among the Federal judi-
cial and executive branches, including the Adminis-
trative Office of the United States Courts and the 
General Services Administration, that the Wood 
Courthouse needs to be replaced by a new court-
house to be constructed on available land to be con-
veyed to the General Services Administration by the 
City of San Antonio. The Wood Courthouse must be 
replaced with a modern building to allow for justice 
to be properly served, and to protect the safety and 
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health of all those who are involved in Federal judi-
cial matters. 
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is hereby appropriated for the fiscal year end-
ing September 30, 2016, out of any money in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated or obligated, $135,000,000 for 
the construction of a new courthouse for the United States 
District Court for the Western District of Texas: Provided, 
That such amount, or any portion of such amount, may 
be derived from the Assets Forfeiture Fund and the Fed-
eral Buildings Fund: Provided further, That such amount 
is designated by the Congress as an emergency require-
ment pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 
SEC. 3. REAL PROPERTY EXCHANGE. 
The courthouse construction to be funded pursuant 
to section 2 shall include an exchange of titles to real prop-
erty, on terms to be negotiated between the Administrator 
of General Services and the City of San Antonio. The 
property exchange shall involve federally owned land in-
cluding the Wood Courthouse and Spears Judicial Train-
ing Center, located at 655 and 643, respectively, East 
Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard, San Antonio, Texas, and city- 
owned land commonly known as the San Antonio Police 
Headquarters Site, 214 West Nueva Street, at the corner 
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of West Nueva and Santa Rosa Streets, San Antonio, 
Texas. 
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall 
submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives, the Committee 
on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the 
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Represent-
atives and the Senate, a report on progress of the imple-
mentation of sections 2 and 3 of this Act. 
Æ 
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