119-hr5565

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5565 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 5565

 To promote classical and traditional architectural styles in Federal 
public buildings to enhance civic pride, reflect national heritage, and 
ensure aesthetic excellence in government infrastructure, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 26, 2025

 Mr. Burchett introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To promote classical and traditional architectural styles in Federal 
public buildings to enhance civic pride, reflect national heritage, and 
ensure aesthetic excellence in government infrastructure, and for other 
 purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Make Federal Architecture Beautiful 
Again Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) 2025 dollars.--The term ``2025 dollars'' means dollars 
 adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Economic Analysis's 
 Gross Domestic Product price deflator and using 2025 as the 
 base year.

    (2) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
 General Services Administration.

    (3) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
 Administrator of General Services.

    (4) Applicable federal public building.--The term 
 ``applicable Federal public building'' means--
        (A) all Federal courthouse and agency headquarters;
        (B) all Federal public buildings in the National 
 Capital Region; and
            (C) all other Federal public buildings that cost or 
 are expected to cost more than 50,000,000 in 2025 
 dollars to design, build, and finish, but does not 
 include infrastructure projects or land ports of entry.

    (5) Brutalist architecture.--The term ``Brutalist 
 architecture'' means the style of architecture that grew out of 
 the early 20th-century modernist movement that is characterized 
 by a massive and block-like appearance with a rigid geometric 
 style and large-scale use of exposed poured concrete.

    (6) Classical architecture.--
        (A) In general.--The term ``classical 
 architecture'' 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, 
 including Alberti, Brunelleschi, 
 Michelangelo, and Palladio;
            (II) Enlightenment masters, 
 including Robert Adam, John Soane, and 
 Christopher Wren;
            (III) 19th Century architects, 
 including Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 
 Robert Mills, and Thomas U. Walter; and
            (IV) 20th Century practitioners, 
 including Julian Abele, Daniel Burnham, 
 Rafael Carmoega, Charles F. McKim, John 
 Russell Pope, Julia Morgan, and the 
 firm of Delano and Aldrich.
        (B) Inclusions.--The term ``classical 
 architecture'' encompasses styles such as Neoclassical, 
 Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Beaux-Arts, and Art 
 Deco.

    (7) Deconstructivist architecture.--The term 
 ``Deconstructivist architecture'' means the style of 
 architecture--
        (A) generally known as ``deconstructivism''; and
        (B) that emerged during the late 1980s that 
 features fragmentation, disorder, discontinuity, 
 distortion, skewed geometry, and the appearance of 
 instability.

    (8) General public.--The term ``general public'' means 
 members of the public who are not--
        (A) artists, architects, engineers, art or 
 architecture 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 decisions involving the 
 design, construction, or remodeling of public 
 buildings.

    (9) Preferred architecture.--The term ``preferred 
 architecture'' means the architecture described in 

section 3

    (3) .

    (10) Public building.--The term ``public building'' has the 
 meaning given such term in 

section 3301

    (a) of title 40, United 
 States Code.

    (11) Traditional architecture.--The term ``traditional 
 architecture'' means--
        (A) classical architecture; and
        (B) the historic humanistic architecture, 
 including--
            (i) Gothic;
            (ii) Romanesque;
            (iii) Second Empire;
            (iv) Pueblo Revival;
            (v) Spanish Colonial; and
            (vi) other Mediterranean styles of 
 architecture historically rooted in various 
 regions of America.

SEC. 3. 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;
            (C) ennoble the United States;
            (D) command respect from the general public;
        (E) be visually identifiable as civic buildings; 
 and
        (F) as appropriate, respect regional architectural 
 heritage;

    (2) building designs should be selected with substantial 
 input from the local community;

    (3) architecture, particularly traditional and classical 
 architecture, that meets the criteria described in paragraph

    (1) , is the preferred architecture for applicable Federal 
 public buildings;

    (4) in the District of Columbia, classical architecture 
 shall be the preferred and default architecture for Federal 
 public buildings absent exceptional factors necessitating 
 another kind of architecture;

    (5) where the architecture of applicable Federal public 
 buildings diverges from the preferred architecture set forth in 
 paragraph

    (1) , great care and consideration must 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 America's 
 system of self-government;

    (6) when renovating, reducing, or expanding applicable 
 Federal public buildings that do not meet the criteria 
 described in paragraph

    (1) , the feasibility and potential 
 expense of building redesign to meet those criteria should be 
 examined; and

    (7) where feasible and economical, such redesign should be 
 given substantial consideration, especially with regard to the 
 building's exterior.

SEC. 4. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR FEDERAL ARCHITECTURE.

 Agencies shall, to the extent practicable, adhere to the following 
Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture:

    (1) Provide requisite and adequate facilities in an 
 architectural style and form that is distinguished and will 
 reflect the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the 
 American National Government, including through the use of the 
 following:
        (A) By their proven ability to meet these 
 requirements, classical and traditional architecture 
 are preferred modes of architectural design. This 
 preference does not exclude the possibility of 
 alternative styles in appropriate circumstances.
        (B) Major emphasis should be placed on the choice 
 of design that embody architectural excellence.
            (C) Specific attention should be paid to the 
 possibilities of incorporating into such designs 
 qualities that reflect the regional architectural 
 traditions of that part of the Nation in which 
 buildings are located.
            (D) Where appropriate, fine art should be 
 incorporated in the designs, with emphasis on the work 
 of living American artists.
        (E) Designs shall adhere to sound construction 
 practice and utilize materials, methods, and equipment 
 proven dependability.
        (F) Buildings shall be economical to build, 
 operate, and maintain, and should be accessible to the 
 handicapped.

    (2) Design must flow from the needs of the Government and 
 the aspirations and preferences of the American people to the 
 architectural profession, and not vice versa, including through 
 the use of the following:
        (A) The Government should be willing to pay some 
 additional cost to avoid excessive uniformity in design 
 of Federal buildings.
        (B) Competitions for the design of Federal 
 buildings should be held where appropriate.
            (C) The advice of distinguished architects 
 practiced in classical or traditional architecture 
 ought to, as a rule, be sought prior to the award of 
 important design contracts.

    (3) The choice and development of the building site should 
 be considered the first step of the design process, including 
 through the use of the following:
        (A) This choice should be made in cooperation with 
 local agencies.
        (B) Special attention should be paid to the general 
 ensemble of streets and public places of which Federal 
 buildings will form a part.
            (C) Where possible, buildings should be located so 
 as to permit a generous development of landscape.

SEC. 5. GSA REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall adhere to the policy of 
the United States described in sections 3 and 4 and shall expeditiously 
update GSA policies and procedures to incorporate such policies and 
principles and advance the purpose of this Act.

    (b) Requirements.--The Administrator shall--

    (1) ensure that GSA architects whose duties include 
 reviewing, assisting with, or approving the selection of 
 architects or designs for applicable Federal public buildings 
 have formal training in, or substantial and significant 
 experience with, classical or traditional architecture;

    (2) create the position of senior advisor for architectural 
 design, for an individual with specialized experience in 
 classical architecture, to help develop GSA procedures, advise 
 on architectural standards, and provide guidance during design 
 evaluations or design juries;

    (3) where the design of an applicable Federal public 
 building is selected pursuant to a design-build competition 
 under 

section 3309 of title 41, United States Code, list 
 experience with classical or traditional architecture as 
 specialized experience and technical competence in the phase-1 
 solicitation, and give substantial weight to these factors when 
 evaluating which offerors will be advanced to phase 2; and

    (4) consistent with sections 4302 and 4312 of title 5, 
 United States Code, make advancing the purposes and 
 implementing the policies of this Act a critical performance 
 element in the individual performance plans of the GSA Chief 
 Architect and appropriate subordinate employees in the GSA 
 Public Buildings Service involved in selecting designs for 
 applicable Federal public buildings.
            (c) Requirements for Design Competition.--Where GSA intends to 
select a building design pursuant to a design competition, the 
Administrator shall--

    (1) actively recruit architectural firms and, as 
 applicable, designers with experience in classical and 
 traditional architecture to enter such competition; and

    (2) to the extent practicable, ensure that multiple design 
 modes are advanced to the final evaluation round of such 
 competition.
            (d) Notification.--In the event the Administrator proposes to 
approve a design for a new applicable Federal public building that 
diverges from the preferred architecture, including Brutalist or 
Deconstructivist architecture or any design derived from or related to 
these types of architecture, the Administrator shall notify the 
President through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy 
not less than 30 days before GSA could reject such design without 
incurring substantial expenditures. Such notification shall set forth 
the reasons the Administrator proposes to approve such design, 
including--

    (1) a detailed explanation of why the Administrator 
 believes selecting such design is justified, with particular 
 focus on whether such design is as beautiful and reflective of 
 the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American 
 system of self-government as alternative designs of comparable 
 cost of using preferred architecture;

    (2) the total expected cost of adopting the proposed 
 design, including estimated maintenance and replacement costs 
 throughout its expected lifecycle; and

    (3) a description of the designs using preferred 
 architecture seriously considered for such project and the 
 total expected cost of adopting such designs, including 
 estimated maintenance and replacement costs throughout their 
 expected lifecycles.
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