H.Res. 163: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the need for appropriate accountability and congressional oversight of public buildings and facilities projects.

111th Congress · introduced 2009-02-12 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-02-12 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Diaz-Balart, Mario [R-FL-25] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the need for appropriate accountability and congressional oversight of public buildings and facilities projects.

Plain summary

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Administrator of General Services should not proceed with any public building or facility project for which a prospectus has been submitted pursuant to provisions requiring congressional approval of an appropriation to construct, alter, or acquire any public building in excess of $1,500,000, to lease any space at an average annual rental in excess of $1,500,000 for public purposes, or to alter any building under lease by the federal government for a public purpose if the cost will exceed $ 750,000, unless the project has been approved and the project cost does not exceed the estimated maximum cost approved by more than 10%; and (2) in the case of a project that may not be subject to those requirements but that otherwise meets those funding thresholds and criteria, the Administrator should submit to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure a detailed plan of the project, including an estimate of the number of jobs the project will create, prior to taking actions in furtherance of the project.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

A Yea supports adopting this resolution.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the need for appropriate accountability and congressional oversight of public buildings and facilities projects.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Diaz-Balart, Mario [R-FL-25] · 5 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Brett Guthrie (R-KY)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Diaz-Balart, Mario [R-FL-25] reported raising $2.8 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Resolution: A formal statement or decision by a legislative body. Simple resolutions often only express an opinion or set rules for one chamber; they do not become law.
Roll-call vote: A vote where each member's position is recorded by name, so the public can see how every member voted. "Yea" means yes, "Nay" means no, "Present" means the member was there but did not take a side.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111hres163.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/hres>

Record fed-us-cong111-hres163 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111