Congress appoints Army veteran Thomas Austin as new architect of the Capitol

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Roll Call

Posted May 22, 2024 at 3:22pm, Updated at 4:18pm


Thomas Austin, an Army veteran and former director of engineering at Arlington National Cemetery, has been named the new architect of the Capitol and will assume the role on June 24, the congressional commission tasked with filling the position announced Wednesday.

Austin will permanently fill the role that was vacated when President Joe Biden removed J. Brett Blanton in February 2023. The architect is responsible for the maintenance, operation, development and preservation of the Capitol complex. Architects of the Capitol are appointed to serve a term of 10 years.

“The Architect of the Capitol plays a vital role in welcoming millions of visitors to our Capitol and ensuring it is a functional workplace,” the commission said in a joint statement. “Thomas Austin has managed construction projects and facilities of all sizes, maintained one of our nation’s most hallowed landmarks, and served our country in the military. We are confident that with his extensive experience, Thomas Austin will be an adept and capable Architect of the Capitol.”

Austin is currently a senior program manager for a construction consulting firm and in the past was chief of the Facility Programs Division for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He retired from the Army in 2023 as a colonel after serving nearly three decades in engineering and leadership roles, including overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the joint statement. He’s a licensed professional engineer and certified construction manager. He will helm an Architect of the Capitol office that for years has been mired in controversy.

Read more: https://rollcall.com/2024/05/22/congress-appoints-army-veteran-thomas-austin-as-new-architect-of-the-capitol/

[getagrip_already]

1. did biden nominate him?

I feel queasie with anyone the house independently nominates to anything.

[LudwigPastorius]

3. "Legislation enacted in 1989 provides that the Architect is to be appointed...

for a term of 10 years by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, from a list of 3 candidates recommended by a congressional commission."

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVMAN-1998-06-02/pdf/GOVMAN-1998-06-02-Pg43.pdf

[BumRushDaShow]

4. That got changed Dec. 2023 with the "Architect of the Capitol Appointment Act of 2023" added to the 2024 NDAA

Original - H.R.3196 - Architect of the Capitol Appointment Act of 2023

Added as a rider on the National Defense Authorization Act - https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2670/text[

H.R.2670 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024


Public Law No. 118-31 (12/22/2023)


[118th Congress Public Law 31]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 135]]

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024

[[Page 137 STAT. 136]]

Public Law 118-31
118th Congress

An Act



To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities
of the Department of Defense and for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, ((NOTE: National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.))

(snip)

TITLE LVII-- ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL APPOINTMENT ACT OF 2023

Sec. 5701. Short title.
Sec. 5702. Appointment and term of service of Architect of the Capitol.
Sec. 5703. Appointment of Deputy Architect of the Capitol; vacancy in
Architect or Deputy Architect.
Sec. 5704. Deputy Architect of the Capitol to serve as acting in case of
absence, disability, or vacancy.

SEC. 5701. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ``Architect of the Capitol
Appointment Act of 2023''.
SEC. 5702. APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF SERVICE
OF ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL.

(a) Appointment.--The Architect of the Capitol shall be appointed,
without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of
fitness to perform the duties of the office, upon a majority vote of a
congressional commission (referred to in this section as the
``commission'') consisting of the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leaders
of the House of Representatives and Senate, the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives, the chairman and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on House Administration of the House of
Representatives, and the chairman and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate.
(b) Term of Service.--The Architect of the
Capitol shall be appointed for a term of 10 years and, upon a majority
vote of the members of the commission, may be reappointed for additional
10-year terms.

(c) Removal.--The Architect of the Capitol may be removed from
office at any time upon a majority vote of the members of the
commission.
(d) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 319 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations
Act, 1990 (2 U.S.C. 1801) is repealed.

[[Page 137 STAT. 961]]

(2) The matter under the heading ``For the Capitol:'' under
the heading ``DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.'' of the Act of
February 14, 1902 (32 Stat. 19, chapter 17; incorporated in 2
U.S.C. 1811) is amended by striking ``, and he shall be
appointed by the President''.

(e) Effective Date.--This section, and the amendments made by this
section, shall apply with respect to appointments made on or after the
date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5703. APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL; VACANCY
IN ARCHITECT OR DEPUTY ARCHITECT.

Section 1203 of title I of division H of the Consolidated
Appropriations Resolution, 2003 (2 U.S.C. 1805) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by inserting ``(in this section referred to as
the `Architect')'' after ``The Architect of the
Capitol''; and
(B) by inserting ``(in this section referred to as
the `Deputy Architect')'' after ``Deputy Architect of
the Capitol'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

``(b) Deadline.--The Architect shall appoint a Deputy Architect
under subsection (a) not later than 120 days after--
``(1) the date on which the Architect is appointed under
section 5702 of the Architect of the Capitol Appointment Act of
2023, if there is no Deputy Architect on the date of the
appointment; or
``(2) the date on which a vacancy arises in the office of
the Deputy Architect.'';
(4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, by striking ``of
the Capitol'' each place it appears; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:

``(d) Failure to Appoint.--If the Architect does not appoint a
Deputy Architect on or before the applicable date specified in
subsection (b), the congressional commission described in section
5702(a) of the Architect of the Capitol Appointment Act of 2023 shall
appoint the Deputy Architect by a majority vote of the members of the
commission.
``(e) Notification.--If the position of Deputy Architect becomes
vacant, the Architect shall immediately notify the members of the
congressional commission described in section 5702(a) of the Architect
of the Capitol Appointment Act of 2023.''.
SEC. 5704. DEPUTY ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
TO SERVE AS ACTING IN CASE OF ABSENCE,
DISABILITY, OR VACANCY.

(a) In General.--The Deputy Architect of the Capitol (in this
section referred to as the ``Deputy Architect'') shall act as Architect
of the Capitol (in this section referred to as the ``Architect'') if the
Architect is absent or disabled or there is no Architect.
(b) Absence, Disability, or Vacancy in Office of Deputy Architect.--
For purposes of subsection (a), if the Deputy Architect is also absent
or disabled or there is no Deputy Architect, the congressional
commission described in section 5702(a) shall designate, by a majority
vote of the members of the commission, an individual to serve as acting
Architect until--
(1) the end of the absence or disability of the Architect or
the Deputy Architect; or
(2) in the case of vacancies in both positions, an Architect
has been appointed under section 5702(a).

[[Page 137 STAT. 962]]

(c) Authority.--An officer serving as acting Architect under
subsection (a) or (b) shall perform all the duties and exercise all the
authorities of the Architect, including the authority to delegate the
duties and authorities of the Architect in accordance with the matter
under the heading ``Office of the Architect of the Capitol'' under the
heading ``ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL'' of the Legislative Appropriation
Act, 1956 (2 U.S.C. 1803).
(d) Conforming Amendment.--The matter under the heading ``salaries''
under the heading ``Office of the Architect of the Capitol'' under the
heading ``ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL'' of the Legislative Branch
Appropriation Act, 1971 (2 U.S.C. 1804) is amended by striking ``:
Provided,'' and all that follows through ``no Architect''.

(snip)

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2670/text

[truthisfreedom]

2. Dan Brown introduced us to the Architect of the Capitol

In one of his Robert Langdon books.

[maxsolomon]

5. So, a PE. Not actually an Architect.

Probably doesn't matter. He's a facilities manager.