AOC warns deferred capital renewal risks after committee presses on elevators, escalators and power-plant cybersecurity
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Summary
Committee members pressed the Architect of the Capitol on aging escalators, elevators and mechanical systems; Thomas Austin said 24 of 28 escalator systems are operational, 83 of 85 elevators are functional, and described plans for new monitoring, component restoration and cybersecurity protections at the Capitol Power Plant.
Committee members questioned Thomas Austin, the Architect of the Capitol, about the condition of escalators, elevators and building mechanical systems across the House office building jurisdiction and about cybersecurity protections at the Capitol Power Plant.
Austin told lawmakers the AOC manages 28 escalator systems across the House office buildings; 24 were operational at the time of the hearing and three of the four nonoperational units are interior escalators in the Rayburn Building. He said many escalators are “antique” systems with parts no longer manufactured and that AOC machine and sheet metal shops frequently fabricate replacement parts.
On elevators, Austin said there are 85 elevators across the House office building jurisdiction and 83 were functional on the morning of the hearing. He described a multi-year program to restore major elevator components and a new remote monitoring system intended to provide real‑time status and allow some remote resets. “This new system is hardening against cyber threats … it gets us better real time data so that when we have an elevator that goes down, our elevator mechanics can respond right away,” he said.
Members also raised broader deferred capital renewal concerns. Austin said budget reductions and continuing resolutions have led the AOC to defer some long-term capital renewal projects — including mechanical and fire‑suppression system work — and that deferring those projects increases the risk of system failures. “When we delay those repairs, that increases the risk of one of those systems failing,” Austin said, adding that some mechanical components in buildings such as Rayburn are original and past their expected 30‑year lifecycle.
On cybersecurity at the Capitol Power Plant, Austin said building-control systems are air‑gapped from the public internet and protected by a zero‑trust architecture; inputs to those systems require manual, controlled authorization. He offered to provide additional non-public briefings for members on sensitive details.
Members also asked about the Botanic Garden and a production facility renewal the Architect had requested. Austin said the production facility requires a full renewal of greenhouses and mechanical systems and that the requested funding reflects a complete replacement of aging infrastructure at that off‑campus production facility.