New White House Act

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- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘New Executive Workgroup for the White House as an 5 Iconic Treasure Expressing Honor, Obligation, Unity, 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7637 IH Strength, and Excellence of our Nation Act’’ or the ‘‘New 1 White House Act’’. 2 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 3 (1) In 1789, the United States became the 4 world’s first modern national constitutional republic. 5 (2) In 1791, the Nation’s first president, 6 George Washington, selected the site for the White 7 House, and the cornerstone was laid in 1792, after 8 a competition design submitted by Irish-born archi- 9 tect James Hoban was chosen. 10 (3) The security of the White House and the 11 First Family has always been of utmost importance 12 to the Nation. 13 (4) The security needs of the White House have 14 evolved along with the Nation. As conditions war- 15 ranted, the White House has been modified in order 16 to meet these evolving needs. 17 (5) In 1808, the first fence around the White 18 House was constructed under the oversight of 19 Thomas Jefferson’s administration. This fence was 20 constructed of wooden split-rail barriers on three 21 sides of the grounds and a retaining wall on the 22 other side which bordered the Potomac River wet- 23 lands. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7637 IH (6) In the 1930s, the wrought-iron fence of the 1 19th century was replaced by a steel fence tipped 2 with tall bronze spears. 3 (7) The current fence is about 7-feet tall and 4 there are plans to install a taller one in 2018. 5 (8) During World War II, security became es- 6 pecially strict. The remaining gaps in the White 7 House fence were closed and access to the driveways 8 was restricted. At the same time, the gates to the 9 White House grounds were reinforced. 10 (9) In 1983, following a truck-bomb attack on 11 the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon, low concrete 12 walls were put up around the White House. 13 (10) With the rise of vehicle traffic in Wash- 14 ington DC, bollards—sturdy, vertical posts—were 15 added to prevent security breaches by automobiles. 16 (11) In 1950, an assassination attempt on 17 President Harry S. Truman further raised concerns 18 over the safety of the President. 19 (12) In the 20th century, there were numerous 20 instances of the White House perimeter being 21 breached by those who wished to reach the Presi- 22 dent. 23 (13) On April 13, 1912, Michael Winter made 24 it several feet inside the front door of the White 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7637 IH House before being stopped by staff. This was his 1 second attempt to reach President William Howard 2 Taft. 3 (14) On September 26, 1963, Doyle Allen 4 Hicks rammed his pickup truck through the White 5 House gates and drove 25 feet into the North Por- 6 tico main entrance. He intended to reach President 7 John F. Kennedy. 8 (15) On February 17, 1974, Robert K. Preston, 9 an Army private, stole a helicopter from Fort 10 Meade, Maryland. He hovered over the Washington 11 Monument and the White House grounds before 12 leading two State police helicopters on an aerial 13 chase around Maryland and Washington, DC. Pres- 14 ton then returned to the White House and officers 15 were forced to shoot at the helicopter. Preston was 16 upset about flunking out of flight school. 17 (16) On February 22, 1974, Samuel Joseph 18 Byck tried to hijack a Delta passenger jet at Balti- 19 more-Washington International Airport. His inten- 20 tion was to crash the jet into the White House. He 21 forced his way onto the plane and killed an airport 22 policeman and the copilot before being shot by po- 23 lice. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7637 IH (17) On December 25, 1974, Marshall Fields 1 crashed his automobile through the Northwest Gate 2 of the White House and drove close to the North 3 Portico. He threatened to detonate explosives which 4 he had strapped to his body. Fields surrendered to 5 officials after hours of negotiation. 6 (18) In October 1978, Anthony Henry scaled 7 the White House fence while wielding a knife. He 8 slashed two officers before White House guards were 9 able to subdue him. He intended to find President 10 Jimmy Carter. 11 (19) On September 12, 1994, Frank Eugene 12 Corder stole a Cessna plane and entered the prohib- 13 ited airspace around the White House. He crashed 14 on the lawn just south of the Executive Mansion. 15 (20) On October 29, 1994, Francisco Martin 16 Duran, armed with a semiautomatic rifle, fired over 17 29 rounds at the White House from the sidewalk on 18 Pennsylvania Avenue. He intended to kill President 19 Bill Clinton. 20 (21) On May 23, 1995, Leland W. Modjeski 21 climbed over the White House fence and ran towards 22 the White House with a handgun. He was shot by 23 the Secret Service. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7637 IH (22) On September 11, 2001, President George 1 W. Bush was taken to an undisclosed location due 2 to security concerns at the White House following 3 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pen- 4 tagon. 5 (23) A 2015 House of Representatives report 6 showed that there were 104 attempted breaches of 7 White House security between April 2005 and April 8 2015. 9 (24) On November 11, 2011, Oscar Ramiro Or- 10 tega-Hernandez fired an assault rifle at the White 11 House. He hit the residential wing of the building at 12 least seven times. This attack was not immediately 13 detected and Ortega-Hernandez was not found and 14 arrested for 5 days. 15 (25) On January 26, 2015, the Secret Service 16 was forced to lock down the White House due to a 17 drone flying above the White House grounds. The 18 drone crashed on the Southeast side of the complex. 19 (26) On November 26, 2015, a man draped in 20 an American flag jumped the White House fence 21 during a Thanksgiving celebration at the Executive 22 Residence. 23 (27) It is now time to build an Executive Office 24 and Residence which takes modern national security 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7637 IH concerns into account and will be able to serve the 1 Office of the President far into the future. 2 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 3 There is established the Commission for the Con- 4 struction of a Modern Executive Mansion and Office Com- 5 plex for the President (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Com- 6 mission’’). 7 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 8 The Commission shall carry out the following duties: 9 (1) The development of a plan, including a site 10 selection plan, to replace the existing White House 11 with a new residence and working space for the 12 President in the District of Columbia which meets 13 modern standards for security, access, and the needs 14 of the President and the President’s staff. 15 (2) The development of a plan (including a plan 16 for fundraising) for the preservation of the docu- 17 ments, artifacts, and artworks which reflect the his- 18 tory of the existing White House and for making 19 such items accessible for public viewing, including by 20 establishing a museum, with the goal of promoting 21 public knowledge of the history of the White House 22 and the individuals, including family members of the 23 Presidents, who lived and worked there. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7637 IH (3) The development of a plan for the tem- 1 porary relocation of the residence and working space 2 of the President and the President’s staff while the 3 new residence and working space is under construc- 4 tion. 5 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 6 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 7 shall be composed of the following members: 8 (1) Each living former President (as of the date 9 of the enactment of this Act) or the living former 10 President’s designee. 11 (2) The Administrator of General Services or 12 the Administrator’s designee. 13 (3) The Secretary of Homeland Security or the 14 Secretary’s designee. 15 (4) Each former Director of the Secret Service 16 who served during the term of office of President 17 George W. Bush or President Barack Obama. 18 (5) The Archivist of the United States or the 19 Archivist’s designee. 20 (6) A representative of each Presidential library 21 which is not administered by the National Archives 22 and Records Administration though the Office of 23 Presidential Libraries. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7637 IH (7) One individual appointed by the President 1 from among a list provided by the Speaker of the 2 House of Representatives. 3 (8) One individual appointed by the President 4 from among a list provided by the minority leader of 5 the House of Representatives. 6 (9) One individual appointed by the President 7 from among a list provided by the majority leader of 8 the Senate. 9 (10) One individual appointed by the President 10 from among a list provided by the minority leader of 11 the Senate. 12 (11) One individual appointed by the President 13 with expertise in the field of historic preservation. 14 (12) One individual appointed by the President 15 with expertise in the field of civil engineering. 16 (13) One individual appointed by the President 17 with expertise in the field of landscape architecture 18 and botany. 19 (14) One individual appointed by the President 20 with expertise in the field of security. 21 (b) TIME OF APPOINTMENT.—Each initial appoint- 22 ment of a member of the Commission shall be made before 23 the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date 24 of the enactment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7637 IH (c) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the 1 life of the Commission. 2 (d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall 3 not affect the powers of the Commission but shall be filled 4 in the manner in which the original appointment was 5 made. 6 (e) BASIC PAY.—Members shall serve on the Com- 7 mission without pay. 8 (f) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive 9 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 10 in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, 11 United States Code. 12 (g) CHAIR.—The Commission shall select a Chair 13 from among the members of the Commission. 14 (h) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 15 call of the Chair. 16 SEC. 5. DIRECTOR AND STAFF. 17 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission may appoint and 18 fix the pay of a Director and such additional personnel 19 as the Commission considers to be appropriate. 20 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE 21 LAWS.— 22 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Director of the Commis- 23 sion may be appointed without regard to the provi- 24 sions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7637 IH pointments in the competitive service, and may be 1 paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 2 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title relat- 3 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates. 4 (2) STAFF.—The staff of the Commission shall 5 be appointed subject to the provisions of title 5, 6 United States Code, governing appointments in the 7 competitive service, and shall be paid in accordance 8 with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 9 of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification 10 and General Schedule pay rates. 11 (c) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon the re- 12 quest of the Chair of the Commission, the head of any 13 Federal department or agency may detail, without reim- 14 bursement, any of the personnel of that department or 15 agency to the Commission to assist in carrying out its du- 16 ties under this Act. 17 SEC. 6. POWERS. 18 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 19 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold such 20 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 21 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 22 considers to be appropriate. 23 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem- 24 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7637.IH H7637 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7637 IH Commission, take any action that the Commission is au- 1 thorized to take by this Act. 2 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 3 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 4 United States information necessary to enable the Com- 5 mission to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chair 6 of the Commission, the head of that department or agency 7 shall furnish that information to the Commission. 8 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 9 States mails in the same manner and [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]