Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and five other Republicans have introduced legislation that would require a reduction in the number underutilized and excess federal properties, continuing a trend in proposals to right-size the federal real property portfolio.
Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., introduced a companion to the Civilian Property Realignment Act in the House earlier this year, the latest in a long line of bills and administration initiatives focusing on the issue.
"By taking a businesslike approach to our current inventory, and aggressively looking for ways to consolidate and dispose of unneeded real property, we can sell properties we no longer need, and save taxpayer money by reducing maintenance and operations costs for years to come,” said Warner. Blunt said the bill is needed to consolidate and get more out of current properties in the face of budget constraints.
The CPRA – as in past real property reform proposals – would establish a commission to review the portfolio and recommend consolidation or disposal. In this case, the commission would include real estate management experts who would issue recommendations twice a year on which properties to consolidate or dispose of. If approved by the President, the recommendations would submitted to Congress which would have 45 days to reject the package lest it be given the force of law, and then agencies would be given three years to carry them out.
The bill also would require $9 billion in savings over 10 years.
