Yes, Authority To Build, But Still No Funds

Vol. 35, Number 8—August 2003

Yes, Authority To Build, But Still No Funds

In July 2003, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved authorizing resolutions for 12 courthouse projects on the Judiciary's FY 2004 Five-Year Courthouse Construction Plan, and requested from GSA the documents necessary to authorize four more courthouse projects after the August recess. The committee also authorized, at the Judiciary's request, acquisition and redesign of a building to house court of appeals staff in Atlanta, Georgia. The committee postponed authorization of the Los Angeles courthouse project pending resolution of concerns raised by some committee members. The committee also authorized 11 courthouse repair and alteration projects, postponing consideration of renovation of the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in New York, NY, until FY 2005. All courthouse projects must have an authorization as well as an appropriation of money to proceed.

Earlier in the month, Judge Jane Roth (3rd Cir.) appeared before the committee's Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management to testify on the need to authorize courthouse construction projects in FY 2004 despite the lack of funding in the President's FY 2004 budget request. Roth, as chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Security and Facilities, described the importance of secure facilities in the current times, the impact on the courts of a rising caseload the Judiciary cannot control, aging facilities, and anticipated problems in accommodating new judges. Roth urged the authorization of the Judiciary's courthouse program for FY 2004 "so that the Judiciary can overcome these problems and address its growing workload in secure, efficient facilities."

In the 108th Congress, the Judiciary's efforts to secure funding for its courthouse projects has been stymied not only by the White House's failure to include any money for new courthouses, but also by competing projects within the House Appropriations subcommittees. In this Congress, as a result of a shift in committee jurisdiction, courthouses must compete for funding with federal highway and transit programs, along with airport, port, rail, and inland waterway construction needs.

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