AIA Colorado meets with Colorado Congressional delegation

AIA Colorado was in Washington, D.C. for the AIA Leadership Summit and also on the Hill discussing issues that are important to Colorado architects.

“Architects can change the course of history. On a fly-in day in February, hundreds of architects convened and flooded the Capitol halls visiting congressional members, all discussing three important legislative bills to elicit support. Not only was inside baseball shared, bill support was gained and a bonus topic was planted. A future visioning session with legislators on imagining housing added to the 36% of federally owned buildings and property in Colorado. A sure win for the future!”
— Sarah Broughton, FAIA, Past President

Julianne Scherer, AIA, President, Sarah Broughton, FAIA, Past-President, Kaylyn Kirby, AIA, Young Architects Forum Representative, Mike Waldinger, Hon. AIA, CEO, and Nikolaus Remus, AIA, Advocacy Advancement Director visited the offices of Sen. Bennet, Sen. Hickenlooper, Rep. DeGette, Rep. Pettersen, and Rep. Boebert.

Architects on the Hill

In total, more than 400 AIA architects members converged on Capitol Hill to advocate for pressing legislation that will significantly impact the architecture profession and community needs. Architects focused on direct engagement with policymakers to advocate for critical legislative goals.

Key national issues include:

Promoting bipartisan legislation through H.R. 964/S. 366 to ensure local community input in the design of federal buildings.

The repeal of the harmful research and development amortization tax provision through H.R. 7024

Eliminating arbitrary fee limitations on A/E Federal Contracts to address growing scope and complexity of federal projects.

Additionally, Colorado membership engaged with policy makers regarding federal workforce housing. Specifically, the request was for the federal government to free up land for future developments that can help make our communities livable for those who work there, starting with federal employees and federal land.

AIA Colorado invited members of the Colorado Congressional delegation to participate in a housing symposium in order to convene and co-promote a visioning session with federal agencies experiencing workforce shortfalls.

Read the AIA Colorado issues document shared and discussed with Colorado’s Congressional delegation.

The message was made loud and clear that AIA Colorado stands ready to help coordinate this effort with Congressional participation and support!