The House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on a bill today that would have made it far more difficult to build federal buildings in the classical style, but a successful pressure campaign from conservatives led to the bill being pulled from the floor schedule.
The bill in question, H.R. 6317, was sponsored by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and would have required the General Services Administration to solicit public comments for any design guidelines or rules for the construction of federal buildings.
Titus has made the proliferation of ugly federal buildings a major policy goal during her time in Congress. She has also sponsored the “Democracy in Design Act,” which would ban the federal government from establishing a standard for the architectural design of federal buildings.
The Nevada congresswoman claims that her efforts are part of preserving “diversity” in architecture.
“Federal design guidelines shouldn’t confine all architecture to one point in history,” she said last year in a statement. “They should reflect all the progress our country has made and reflect our diverse history and culture.”
Both bills are part of an effort to prevent the revival of a 2020 executive order by President Donald Trump that mandated all new federal buildings be constructed in the classical style.
“New federal building designs should, like America’s beloved landmark buildings, uplift and beautify public spaces, inspire the human spirit, ennoble the United States, command respect from the general public, and, as appropriate, respect the architectural heritage of a region,” the executive order said. “They should also be visibly identifiable as civic buildings and should be selected with input from the local community.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) said Republicans needed to commit to fighting for the former president as he seeks to regain the White House in November.
“In 2016, President Trump had Paul Ryan in the Speaker’s chair and a Republican Party that wasn’t committed to fighting for his agenda,” Banks said. “We can’t make the same mistake during his second term, and we can’t let the Democrats sneak booby traps past the House in the meantime.”
There was absolutely no reason why a bill that would directly or indirectly challenge the federal government’s ability to build beautiful buildings should have ever made it to the floor of the House of Representatives, especially since the chamber is currently controlled by the GOP.
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Government buildings, and indeed all buildings, should be beautifully constructed and inspire awe in all who see them. This should not be a controversial proposition. As it is, a number of federal buildings are so ugly and soulless that these constructions only serve to crush the human spirit in a wall of concrete.
While it is good that House leadership came to its senses and withdrew the bill from the House floor schedule, there was no reason for the bill to have ever been brought up in the first place. Republicans in the House should instead be voting on a bill to ensure that all federal buildings stand as civic monuments, just as the U.S. Capitol does, and do not resemble concrete prisons such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development building.