Agencies cited funding constraints, labor and material cost increases. Image: CHRISTOPHER E ZIMMER/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffGAO has found that at four agencies it examined—GSA, HHS, Energy and Interior–the backlog of deferred maintenance and repairs at buildings and other facilities they own increased over 2017-2022 by more than 80 percent total collectively, and by 126 percent at GSA.
Agencies pointed to “factors including funding constraints, labor and material cost increases, and the size and age of agencies’ real property portfolios” for the growth, which in dollar terms was $22 billion, a report said.
It said that the agencies followed most of the leading practices for managing deferred maintenance and repairs and communicated their needs to Congress. But it said they could do better at communicating the reasons for their estimates and the impact of the deferred work on their missions.
The report didn’t examine the potential health and safety concerns for federal employees working at those facilities or members of the public, but rather focused on how agencies could better assess and communicate their needs. The agencies agreed with those recommendations although OMB had no comment on a recommendation that it issue new guidance to agencies to that end.
The report comes as the GSA in particular is under pressure to shed or consolidate underused or unused properties it owns or leases, particularly in light of an earlier GAO report showing high rates of vacancies at federal headquarters buildings. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee last week held a hearing to press GSA on the issue, while the GSA cited steps it recently has taken in that direction and said that it could be doing more if Congress had fully funded its budget requests.
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