Congress·In Progress·H.R. 7054

To require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a notification of certain construction projects using nonstandard designs.

State Department: Reporting on Custom Embassy Designs

Jan 21·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committeeNo action in 7 months

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs voted to move this bill forward in January 2026. It has not moved since that vote. The bill must now go to the full House of Representatives for further action.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

While this bill focuses on government efficiency, most individual bills introduced in the House do not advance past the committee stage without broad bipartisan support.

Key Points

This bill requires the State Department to notify Congress before spending money on new embassy or consulate projects that use custom designs instead of standard ones. The Secretary of State must provide this notice at least 15 days before any funds are committed.
The notification must include a detailed comparison between the custom design and a standard design. This includes looking at the total cost over the life of the building, how long it will take to finish construction, and how secure the building will be for staff.
The State Department must also provide a specific reason why they chose a unique design over a standard one. This rule applies to all new embassy projects, including those that are currently being planned or designed right now.
The goal of this policy is to encourage the government to use standard building plans whenever possible to save time and money. It aims to prevent unnecessary spending on complex architectural projects when a simpler design would be just as safe and effective.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

3 milestones4 actions

Jan 21, 2026House

Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 47 - 0.

The committee approved this bill and is sending it to the full chamber for a vote. This is a significant step — most bills never get this far.

Jan 21, 2026House

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

Jan 14, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

To require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a notification of certain construction projects using nonstandard designs.

Bill NumberHR 7054

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionOrdered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 47 - 0.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.