The bill proposes $2.4 billion less for GSA than the White House’s request and $476 million below the fiscal 2013 enacted level, prompting GSA administrator Dan Tangherlini to warn that the government could be forced to default on rent.
The House request also would restructure GSA accounts to separate out administrative expenses and allow funding for space consolidation only if such projects would reduce future costs, and reduce funding for operating and leasing existing space.
The proposal would fund 85 percent of what Tangherlini says is needed to pay GSA rent to the private sector under current lease obligations.
He said the bill would "dramatically reduce investments in necessary infrastructure, such as border crossings," and that it proposes to "fund leases that we get from the private sector at a level that could very likely force the government to default on our rent obligations."
That may require having to "default on leases; close facilities; or even, in some extreme cases, breach our contracts, which would result in lessors charging higher leases for federal agencies," he warned.