Capitol Architect Grilled By GOP Lawmaker In Tense Hearing
The gentlewoman yields back. Mr. Kerry is now recognized for five minutes for the purpose of asking questions. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to address the witness. And you know what's tragic is, and I think is this committee will find, I'm a huge history buff. Love historic preservation.
Love the capital. My plan was to be here today and ask you, and I will eventually. Ask you about the historic preservation work that you're doing, asking about some of the things that we could do better with historic preservation in terms of the capital. But as I'm listening to my colleagues across the aisle, and even on our side, asking you questions about things that really I wasn't planning on asking you. But I'm going to ask you now. Does the AOC, do any of your other team members have any other, have vehicles like you do, sir? No. It was.
In fact, I want to make it clear too. I don't have the vehicle anymore. But you said the vehicle was essential. Why do you not have it now? Because Congress, in the last appropriations bill, chose to defund the vehicle. So if it's a mobile operational center, as you alluded to earlier, where is that communication now? Is that in your home? No. I, my opinion is it would have been better if they continued to appropriate it, but they. But where is it now? Where's the, no, where's the communication that you have to have since you have to be on 24-7, as you said earlier in your testimony? Now it's going to occur via cell phone.
Okay. So, the other question was, and listening to, I do want to get to the historic preservation of stuff, because that's really stuff I care about. But these are questions that just came up as I'm listening to my colleagues across the aisle. If somebody else is driving the vehicle, and you're in the vehicle, but they're driving it, and it's provided before by the government, if that person is in an accident, who's liable for that? I'd have to get back with you on that. I'm not a lawyer. Would you, neither am I. So that's why I'm asking a simple question.
I mean, what is it? Do you have any idea? You don't know? I don't know. But if I'm working in the vehicle, then I'm doing work, which has occurred many times. Okay. But no other person in your executive team has a vehicle that was driven back and forth to the Capitol. That is correct. So I know you were in here, and neither was I, because I just came here in November 2021. But were any of your executives on your team here on January 6th? So I believe, and I'll have to get back to you on all the number of executives, I believe the House Office Building was there, because I was in constant contact with the Capitol Building superintendent was there, because I was in constant contact with him about how to change the flow of air to get all the pepper spray and stuff like that out of the Capitol and secure elevators and stuff like that.
Okay. I appreciate that. I would like to just kind of have an idea of how many of your executives actually were here during January 6th. I mean, obviously, I was not since I was not even thinking that I would ever be serving in this position. Okay. So let me ask you just a couple of questions. You alluded to the AOC University.
Can you give me some information on the program and quickly do it, because I only have a minute and nine seconds, and how it actually is going to help staff development and how you think it's going to help your staff moving forward? Yes. Thank you. So AOC University is mirrored closer to what you would see in your normal corporate university, whether you're a large construction firm or you're an IT type firm. And it's really meant to offer the courses and training so that staff can either cross-train into something else where we have shortages or further their careers. And so we have, we've partnered with Precipio, which is an online training center and are able to give staff classes where it's going to be free to them, but allow them, if they want to go from an electrician to an electronics mate, for example. Okay. So I have 23 seconds.
How does historic preservation, this is the stuff I really wanted to talk about. How does historic preservation work factor into your strategic plan for the AOC? So that is actually one of our core mission is to serve, preserve, and then inspire our three core missions. So historic conservation is obviously exceptionally important, but there's a tension between modernization and historical prevention. And I would love to have a continued conversation with you. Let's do that because you're, we're now 11 seconds over. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your indulgence and I yield back.
The gentleman yields back. The chair now recognized.
Rep. Mike Carey, Brett Blanton, House