United States House Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds

The standing Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds was established in 1837, replacing the Select Committee on Public Buildings which had been created in 1819. This new five-member committee was empowered "to consider all subjects relating to the public edifices and grounds within the city of Washington which may be referred to them, and report their opinion thereon, together with such propositions relating thereto as may seem to them expedient.

Further changes were made in 1880, when the committee was expanded to 16 members and its jurisdiction expanded to cover "the public buildings and occupied or improved grounds of the United States, other than appropriations therefore."

The jurisdiction of the committee did not change after 1880, but the number of members was increased several times.

The committee reported legislation for the construction throughout the country of public buildings, including customs houses, post offices, and Federal court houses; the erection of monuments and memorials; the purchase of property for public use; improvements to public property; and compensation for workers erecting public buildings. During the early years of the committee, much of the legislation reported had to do with constructing and improving public buildings in Washington, DC, and commissioning artists to create art work for those buildings.