The House has passed, on bipartisan voice votes, two bills designed to reduce the federal office space footprint, improve management of the government’s real estate portfolio and streamline the disposal of underused or excess property—issues that have been the subject of administrative actions and legislative proposals for years.
One bill, HR-4487, would set up a streamlined leasing pilot program to reduce administrative burden on most GSA leases and encourages consolidations. It also has accountability provisions designed to ensure that construction or acquisition of new space stays within budget and within timeframes. It further would strengthen authority of the Federal Protective Service and clarify roles of different law enforcement entities in protecting federal buildings.
The other, HR-4465, would create a public buildings reform board to identify opportunities to reduce the real property inventory and make recommendations to sell underused or vacant properties. It also would require GSA to publish a single database of all federal real properties, specifying whether they are underused or unused.
