Last week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., doubled down on his support of the “Beautifying Federal Civil Architecture Act.”
The bill will “make classical and traditional architecture the preferred architectural style for certain federal public buildings,” and Rubio’s office offered some of the details of his proposal when he introduced it last month.
“America’s founders intended for Washington, D.C. to be a classical capital city. Most Americans also prefer traditional building designs over modernist ones. However, since the 1950s, federal buildings have been constructed with modern architecture counter to both the founders’ vision and the public’s preference,” Rubio’s office noted.
“Federal buildings physically embody our system of government and its institutions. Federal buildings should therefore reflect our government’s dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability while inspiring civic pride. I am proud to introduce the Beautifying Federal Civil Architecture Act to restore the tradition and beauty that our nation’s federal architecture has lost,” said Rubio.
Rubio pointed to a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal from Myron Magnet on the matter and took to social media to express his agreement with that essay.
“Americans deserve beautiful buildings,” Rubio insisted last week. “The Founding Fathers wanted public buildings to reflect our values and traditions. But in the last century, they’ve gone from pleasing to the eye to a complete eyesore.”
U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Mike Braun, R-Ind., Ted Budd, R-NC, Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, are co-sponsoring the bill.
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last month. In the U.S. House, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced the companion bill at the end of May. Eight House Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz, are co-sponsoring the bill which is before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
The National Civic Art Society is backing the proposal.
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