This was a vote on an amendment by Rep. Jeff Flake to transportation, housing, and urban affairs legislation that would have eliminated a provision of the bill providing $1 million for the restoration of the Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, NY, which was designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Flake urged support for his amendment: “There are a lot of historic buildings around the country, a lot of them, that need a lot of restoration. My own home needs a lot of it. A lot of people are losing their homes. Those homes need a lot of restoration. A lot of them are losing them because of the Federal Government's spending ways. Yet here we are designating one project to receive a million dollars….We have a deficit of $1.47 trillion. We have a debt of $13.2 trillion. How in the world can we continue to do this, to earmark money for projects like this, when we have that kind of deficit and we have that kind of debt?”

Rep. Brian Higgins (N-NY) urged opposition to the bill: “The Darwin Martin House in Buffalo is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's singular architectural masterpieces and is currently undergoing an ambitious project to restore it from a period of neglect to its original grandeur. The reason for its inclusion in the bill before us today is because restoration of the Martin House is important to the economic future of Buffalo and western New York. The Martin House currently attracts tourists from all over the world. This investment will help create 200 jobs and $18 million in annual economic activity for a million-dollar investment.”

The House rejected Flake’s amendment by a vote of 165-258. 151 Republicans and 14 Democrats voted “yea.” 242 Democrats and 16 Republicans voted “nay.” As a result, the House rejected an amendment to transportation, housing, and urban affairs legislation that would have eliminated a provision of the bill providing $1 million for the restoration of the Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, NY.