Lawmakers are seeking data and recommendations for office space and lease consolidation and the disposal of underutilized federal buildings. Image: ND700/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffKey bills for the upcoming fiscal year now advancing in the House reflect pressure from Republican leaders there for agencies to more fully disclose their telework practices and to reduce underused office space.
A report from House Appropriations Committee as it approved the measure covering general government matters orders GSA and OMB to provide within 180 days of enactment “data and recommendations for federal agency office space and lease consolidation and the disposal of federal buildings that have an average office space utilization rate of less than 60 percent, based on a benchmark of 150 usable square feet per person.”
The report elsewhere adds that “the committee expects” agencies funded under the bill — which includes the IRS, the central management agencies, financial regulatory agencies and numerous smaller agencies — “to reduce their office footprint if their average office space utilization rate” is below that benchmark.
A separate bill funding the State Department would require that department to report within 60 days of enactment on the usage rate of its leased office space, its policies on telework practices and “physical attendance rates at office sites,” and “any plans to modify such policy and a timeline for implementation of such change.”
And in voting on a defense spending bill, the House added language requiring DoD to annually report on its office space utilization, broken down by month, and adopt procedures to vacate space if occupancy falls below 60 percent for six months within a year, based on the same 150 square feet per person measure.
The language follows a directive in a funding law approved in late March for the administration to report on agency return-to-office plans, the average number and percent of employees present in the office, each agency’s most recent policy on telework, including any agreement with employee unions, metrics for measuring employee productivity levels when teleworking, cost of total office space, average office space utilization rate and estimated costs of underused space, and more.
That report is due next week. There has been no indication whether the administration will meet that deadline, but the report on the general government bill notably points out that the committee has not received briefings on “how the federal government can reduce its office space requirements based on the lessons learned from the use of telework” as required by a 2022 law.
Shutdown Meter Ticking Up a Bit
Judge Backs Suit against Firings of Probationers, but Won’t Order Reinstatements
Focus Turns to Senate on Effort to Block Trump Order against Unions
TSP Adds Detail to Upcoming Roth Conversion Feature
White House to Issue Rules on RIF, Disciplinary Policy Changes
Hill Dems Question OPM on PSHB Program After IG Slams Readiness
See also,
How Do Age and Years of Service Impact My Federal Retirement
The Best Ages for Federal Employees to Retire
