Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016
Floor Speech
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I rise in support of H.R. 4465, the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016. This bill begins the process of reforming GSA's public building services.
I would like to, first of all, recognize wholeheartedly my very good friend, whom I had an opportunity to travel with, my colleague from California (Mr. Denham) for his work in bringing this bill before the Transportation Committee and now the full House, and also my colleague Chairman Barletta.
Today's legislation, Mr. Speaker, really has the potential to be a valuable tool in right-sizing our Federal footprint. It authorizes an independent board that could provide a source of revenue for the Federal Government to invest in its existing buildings and to better manage its real estate portfolio. The board would make recommendations to dispose of unneeded and underutilized real estate, and it would make recommendations to consolidate Federal real estate functions where appropriate.
H.R. 4465 is consistent with several governmentwide memoranda issued by the President that ordered agencies to reduce and freeze their real estate footprints. These directives represent the administration's sustained priority of improving the management of Federal real estate. I believe H.R. 4465 dovetails well with the administration's priorities and begins to address the issue in very meaningful ways.
Both the Transportation Committee and the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, have repeatedly raised concerns about the way Federal real property has been managed. The proposed board would be highly instrumental in reconfiguring, co-locating, and even realigning the Federal real estate portfolio with best practices.
Although I believe the board can serve an important role in disposing of unneeded real estate, I also urge the board to not sell real estate assets in a soft market or sell properties that hamstring the government's ability to house Federal employees in the future. Expert and specialized skill is still very necessary to dispose of underutilized real estate assets while avoiding selling property the government could need in the future. Without this expertise, we could end up with transactions leading to future long-term leasing because of the haphazard disposal of underutilized real estate.
It is very important to note that today's legislation contains several checks and balances. As a result of the concerns expressed on my side of the aisle, there were several changes to the bill while negotiating the final version. Instead of the bill requiring six annual recommendations, as originally proposed, the board will now make three sets of detailed recommendations over 6 years so that Congress can conduct oversight of the board's actions and properly gauge the alignment of the board's goals with congressional priorities.
In addition, the aggregate value of transactions is capped at no more than $8 billion. Each potential real estate action with a value above $20 million will require an appropriation that will go through the normal GSA prospectus approval process.
Now, Mr. Speaker, Federal agencies will be required to coordinate construction and alteration projects with GSA. I appreciate that the sponsors of this important legislation were willing to work with us to address these concerns, and we look forward to continuing this great work as it is being implemented
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I support today's legislation. It creates an independent board to make recommendations on how to meet the goal of right-sizing the Federal real estate portfolio and saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
I intend to conduct vigorous oversight of this board and the actions taken by GSA in order to make it a success.
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