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, Obliga-
tion, 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘New Executive Workgroup for the White House as an 
Iconic Treasure Expressing Honor, Obligation, Unity, 
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Strength, and Excellence of our Nation Act’’ or the ‘‘New 
White House Act’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 1789, the United States became the 
world’s first modern national constitutional republic. 
(2) In 1791, the Nation’s first president, 
George Washington, selected the site for the White 
House, and the cornerstone was laid in 1792, after 
a competition design submitted by Irish-born archi-
tect James Hoban was chosen. 
(3) The security of the White House and the 
First Family has always been of utmost importance 
to the Nation. 
(4) The security needs of the White House have 
evolved along with the Nation. As conditions war-
ranted, the White House has been modified in order 
to meet these evolving needs. 
(5) In 1808, the first fence around the White 
House was constructed under the oversight of 
Thomas Jefferson’s administration. This fence was 
constructed of wooden split-rail barriers on three 
sides of the grounds and a retaining wall on the 
other side which bordered the Potomac River wet-
lands. 
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(6) In the 1930s, the wrought-iron fence of the 
19th century was replaced by a steel fence tipped 
with tall bronze spears. 
(7) The current fence is about 7-feet tall and 
there are plans to install a taller one in 2018. 
(8) During World War II, security became es-
pecially strict. The remaining gaps in the White 
House fence were closed and access to the driveways 
was restricted. At the same time, the gates to the 
White House grounds were reinforced. 
(9) In 1983, following a truck-bomb attack on 
the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon, low concrete 
walls were put up around the White House. 
(10) With the rise of vehicle traffic in Wash-
ington DC, bollards—sturdy, vertical posts—were 
added to prevent security breaches by automobiles. 
(11) In 1950, an assassination attempt on 
President Harry S. Truman further raised concerns 
over the safety of the President. 
(12) In the 20th century, there were numerous 
instances of the White House perimeter being 
breached by those who wished to reach the Presi-
dent. 
(13) On April 13, 1912, Michael Winter made 
it several feet inside the front door of the White 
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House before being stopped by staff. This was his 
second attempt to reach President William Howard 
Taft. 
(14) On September 26, 1963, Doyle Allen 
Hicks rammed his pickup truck through the White 
House gates and drove 25 feet into the North Por-
tico main entrance. He intended to reach President 
John F. Kennedy. 
(15) On February 17, 1974, Robert K. Preston, 
an Army private, stole a helicopter from Fort 
Meade, Maryland. He hovered over the Washington 
Monument and the White House grounds before 
leading two State police helicopters on an aerial 
chase around Maryland and Washington, DC. Pres-
ton then returned to the White House and officers 
were forced to shoot at the helicopter. Preston was 
upset about flunking out of flight school. 
(16) On February 22, 1974, Samuel Joseph 
Byck tried to hijack a Delta passenger jet at Balti-
more-Washington International Airport. His inten-
tion was to crash the jet into the White House. He 
forced his way onto the plane and killed an airport 
policeman and the copilot before being shot by po-
lice. 
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(17) On December 25, 1974, Marshall Fields 
crashed his automobile through the Northwest Gate 
of the White House and drove close to the North 
Portico. He threatened to detonate explosives which 
he had strapped to his body. Fields surrendered to 
officials after hours of negotiation. 
(18) In October 1978, Anthony Henry scaled 
the White House fence while wielding a knife. He 
slashed two officers before White House guards were 
able to subdue him. He intended to find President 
Jimmy Carter. 
(19) On September 12, 1994, Frank Eugene 
Corder stole a Cessna plane and entered the prohib-
ited airspace around the White House. He crashed 
on the lawn just south of the Executive Mansion. 
(20) On October 29, 1994, Francisco Martin 
Duran, armed with a semiautomatic rifle, fired over 
29 rounds at the White House from the sidewalk on 
Pennsylvania Avenue. He intended to kill President 
Bill Clinton. 
(21) On May 23, 1995, Leland W. Modjeski 
climbed over the White House fence and ran towards 
the White House with a handgun. He was shot by 
the Secret Service. 
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(22) On September 11, 2001, President George 
W. Bush was taken to an undisclosed location due 
to security concerns at the White House following 
attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pen-
tagon. 
(23) A 2015 House of Representatives report 
showed that there were 104 attempted breaches of 
White House security between April 2005 and April 
2015. 
(24) On November 11, 2011, Oscar Ramiro Or-
tega-Hernandez fired an assault rifle at the White 
House. He hit the residential wing of the building at 
least seven times. This attack was not immediately 
detected and Ortega-Hernandez was not found and 
arrested for 5 days. 
(25) On January 26, 2015, the Secret Service 
was forced to lock down the White House due to a 
drone flying above the White House grounds. The 
drone crashed on the Southeast side of the complex. 
(26) On November 26, 2015, a man draped in 
an American flag jumped the White House fence 
during a Thanksgiving celebration at the Executive 
Residence. 
(27) It is now time to build an Executive Office 
and Residence which takes modern national security 
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