Why It Matters

The House Administration Committee convened a full oversight hearing on June 3 with Thomas Austin, the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), as Congress confronts what could become the most expensive renovation in its history. Austin has warned of "catastrophic systems failure" in the Rayburn House Office Building, while the current appropriations bill provides zero dollars for the swing space needed to begin the project.

The Big Picture

Rayburn, the largest House office building at 2.3 million square feet, has never undergone a full renovation since opening in 1965. Austin, the first Architect of the Capitol selected by Congress itself, has been sounding alarms since taking office in June 2024. In October 2025, a failed air handler unit knocked out air conditioning to 22 suites. Replacement parts had to be custom-fabricated because the 60-year-old components are no longer manufactured. The repair took six weeks. Austin told the committee the agency "got lucky" because Congress was mostly out of session.

A 2020 independent panel had already concluded Rayburn's critical systems were at "imminent failure risk." Since 2023, the building has experienced 25 major water leaks. The hearing also drew on the recently completed Cannon Building Renewal Project, which came in at $971 million, roughly $220 million above its original 2009 midpoint estimate of $750 million. That project's cost overruns and five-phase construction approach, which Austin called inefficient, now frame the entire Rayburn conversation. A prior oversight hearing on Austin's first year was held in June 2025, and a March budget hearing preceded this one. Politico reported the total Rayburn renovation could approach $9 billion and take two decades.

What They're Saying

Steil pressed Austin on whether the five-phase Cannon approach was a cautionary tale. Austin said it "absolutely" was, calling excessive mobilization and demobilization cycles one of the "big three lessons" from that project. The other two were separating construction from active congressional operations as much as possible, and enforcing tighter change-management controls to prevent late-stage scope creep that drove up Cannon's costs.

Morelle, speaking with visible urgency, asked Austin to define "catastrophic systems failure" in plain terms. Austin described last October's air handler failure in Rayburn as an example, noting the unit had been designed for 30 years of use and was approaching its 61st year. He said the building currently has only four swing space suites available for displaced members, meaning any larger failure would require ad hoc relocation to committee rooms and common spaces.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11) asked Austin about security upgrades since January 6, 2021. Austin confirmed that all exterior Capitol doors have been replaced with high-security models, all outside-facing windows have been replaced, and construction on a new South Entrance security screening facility will begin this month. He acknowledged some details could not be discussed in open session.

Rep. H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9) raised a bipartisan bill he filed with Morelle to install adult changing stations in the Capitol Visitor Center for disabled visitors. Austin said design funding is already programmed in the current year's bill and he does not expect authorization to be an issue.

Rep. Gregory F. Murphy (R-NC-3) pressed Austin on Cannon's cost overruns and asked whether contractors bear any risk. Austin explained that the original 2009 estimate carried a plus-or-minus 40 percent margin, and that COVID shutdowns, pandemic-era price escalations, and a forced construction halt in early 2021 all contributed to the final figure. He argued the $971 million outcome fell within the original estimate range.

Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH-15) asked Austin to complete his earlier answer on the three Cannon lessons, which had been cut short. Austin laid them out in full, adding that asbestos is more deeply embedded in Rayburn's structural components than it was in Cannon, complicating access to mechanical systems throughout the building.

Rep. Mary E. Miller (R-IL-15) asked about deferred maintenance. Austin said the agency has over $600 million in identified projects in the current budget year alone, and that unfunded work does not disappear. It compounds. Rep. Stephanie I. Bice (R-OK-5) thanked Austin for the recent installation of a permanent ADA pickup and drop-off point at the Capitol, which she said had not previously existed.

Political Stakes

Morelle was direct in criticizing the appropriations process, saying he was "frankly deeply disappointed" that the legislative branch funding bill provides zero dollars for swing space design despite the AOC's explicit request. He said Rayburn renovation design work "cannot meaningfully begin" until Congress decides on swing space, making that funding the critical bottleneck. House appropriators have reported a draft fiscal 2027 legislative branch bill at $689 million for the AOC, roughly $720 million below Austin's request.

Austin told the committee that under the new building option, it would take approximately eight years before the Rayburn renovation itself could begin, accounting for design, enabling work, and swing space construction. The preferred swing space location, he said, is above the West House Underground Garage, though that remains subject to congressional direction. Any site must be within a 10-minute walk of the House chamber and have tunnel access.

The Other Side

Austin was careful to note that Rayburn's facilities remain safe for occupancy. Hazardous materials, including asbestos and lead, are encapsulated and pose risk primarily during renovation work or major leaks, not routine daily use. The more immediate concern, he said, is operational failure rather than safety failure. That distinction matters politically, since it reduces urgency for members who may be skeptical of the price tag, while still supporting Austin's case that delay makes the eventual cost higher.

What's Next

The Capitol Campus Master Plan, being developed with an outside architecture and engineering firm, is expected to be complete this fall. It will outline infrastructure requirements across the campus for the next several decades, and will require review by this committee and appropriators. The fiscal 2027 legislative branch bill still needs full House and Senate action. Until Congress authorizes a swing space approach and appropriates design funding, the Rayburn renovation cannot advance beyond preliminary planning.

The Bottom Line

Congress has documented, in its own hearing record, that the building it works in is at risk of systems failure, but has so far declined to fund the first step needed to fix it.

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