Securities and Exchange Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 388) to amend title 40, United States Code, to eliminate the leasing authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 388

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Securities and Exchange Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act''. SEC. 2. LEASING OF SPACE FOR SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION.

(a) In General.--Section 3304 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(e) Leasing of Space for Securities and Exchange Commission.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Securities and Exchange Commission may not lease general purpose office space. The Administrator may lease such space for the Securities and Exchange Commission under section 585 and this chapter.''.

(b) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--The amendment made by subsection (a) may not be construed to invalidate or otherwise affect a lease entered into by the Securities and Exchange Commission before the date of enactment of this Act. SEC. 3. INDEPENDENT LEASING AUTHORITIES.

(a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the review described in subsection (b).

(b) Review.--The Comptroller General shall complete a review under which the Comptroller General shall update the 2016 report of the Comptroller General (GAO-16-648) with a specific focus on the following:

(1) Updating the information included in Appendix II: Federal Entities That Reported Having Independent Leasing Authority for Domestic Offices and Warehouses of such report.

(2) Determining to what extent Federal entities with independent leasing authorities have had such authorities rescinded or amended and the number and amount of office and warehouse space such entities lease.

(3) Determining to what extent have agencies with independent leasing authority utilized the General Services Administration for leasing, including utilization of delegation of authority.

(4) Identifying progress made on implementing the recommendations in such report.

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Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. 388.

H.R. 388 revokes the Securities and Exchange Commission's, or the SEC's, leasing authority for general office space and brings them in line with current leasing practices through the General Services Administration, or the GSA.

In 2012, the SEC violated Federal law by signing a lease for 1.4 million square feet that cost taxpayers $566 million. This resulted in investigations by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the SEC's Inspector General.

The conclusions of these investigations indicated that not only did the SEC exceed its authority with this lease, but also that the SEC had a history of mismanaging its leasing authority.

Recent actions by the SEC during GSA's procurement of leased space for the SEC seem to indicate that the agency may be turning back to its old ways.

This bill ensures that the SEC, like other Federal agencies, continues to use the GSA for its space needs and provides more safeguards for the taxpayers' money.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

H.R. 388 ensures that the SEC is going to work with the GSA on leasing to improve oversight, reduce costs, protect taxpayers against wasteful spending, and minimize Anti-Deficiency Act violations in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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