Darrell Issa: “In closing, I want to urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 4192, and I want to close by reminding people that…”

“In closing, I want to urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 4192, and I want to close by reminding people that this is, in fact, the best vetted piece of legislation for Congress to pass in cooperation with the city in my tenure. Thirteen D.C. city councilmen signed on to a sense of council- introduced resolution in November that stated: The Height Act should not be amended at this time. All 13 now support this modest recommendation, and I understand the additional member also would. I am glad that the city council is seeing this modest reform as in their favor--their benefit to enhancing the beauty of those buildings, those few buildings that reach the maximum of the Height Act. In closing, I think it is important that we echo what Delegate Norton just said. The vast majority of homes and buildings in the District of Columbia are far lower than the Height Act. In fact, it is a relatively small part of what some people sometimes call K Street and some other corridors, where the infrastructure of the city has pressed to occupy more densely. My hope is, by maintaining the height, the total occupancy, these penthouses will enhance that property, in many cases, with cafeteria or public access areas while still continuing to induce people to make reasonable changes in outlying areas if, in fact, additional capacity is needed either for residents of this city or, in fact, the thriving businesses of this city.…”