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Architect of the Capitol requests $1.3 billion to address life‑safety, security and deferred maintenance
Summary
The Architect of the Capitol told a Senate subcommittee that a $1.3 billion FY2026 request would fund life‑safety, physical security and critical infrastructure projects, hire roughly 57 positions and help address an extensive deferred‑maintenance backlog across the Capitol campus.
Mr. Austin, Architect of the Capitol, told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch that the agency’s FY2026 request totals $1.3 billion and focuses on life safety, physical security and critical infrastructure needs across the Capitol campus.
The request matters because the Architect oversees the maintenance and long‑term preservation of an 18.5 million square‑foot historic campus that serves about 20,000 daily occupants and roughly 3 million annual visitors; committee members said delayed projects increase risk and future costs.
Mr. Austin said the FY2026 request reflects both predesign work for long‑term renovations (for example, Rayburn Building work cited as predesign) and immediate infrastructure investments, and that some requested funding would support staff needed for planning and project management. He told senators the request…
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