Eliminate Agency Excess Space Act
This bill modifies requirements with respect to the disposal of surplus and excess property by federal agencies.
Among other things, the bill repeals provisions that require federal agencies to report excess property to the General Services Administration (GSA). Additionally, the GSA must issue regulations that allow federal agencies to dispose of surplus and excess property without first making the property available to other agencies or state or local governments.
The bill also requires the GSA to survey all unused or underutilized office spaces held by federal agencies, make recommendations to reduce agency real estate assets, and report on costs associated with property disposal.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6128 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6128
To amend title 40, United States Code, to modify certain requirements
for Federal agencies in the disposition of surplus real property, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2020
Mr. Murphy of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Johnson of Louisiana,
Mr. Banks, Mr. Bishop of North Carolina, Mr. Budd, Mr. Gaetz, Mr.
Gianforte, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Mr.
Allen, Mr. Keller, Mr. Mooney of West Virginia, Mr. Riggleman, Mr.
David P. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Roy, Mr. Steube, Mr. Timmons, Mr.
Tipton, Mr. Walker, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, and Mr. Wright)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 40, United States Code, to modify certain requirements
for Federal agencies in the disposition of surplus real property, and
for other purposes.
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 ``Eliminate Agency Excess Space Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Under the status quo, empty Federal agency office
buildings cannot be sold by agencies that want to be efficient.
Instead, each agency must let their vacant office spaces remain
a purposeless and excessive cost on their balance sheets.
(2) According to a 2017 Congressional Research Service
report, in fiscal year 2016, U.S. Federal agencies owned 3,120
buildings that were vacant or unutilized and owned another
7,859 buildings that were partially empty or underutilized.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) Federal agencies should not be limited when placing
unused or underused office space on the market for sale; and
(2) Federal agencies should be able to sell their unused
offices to provide for greater fiscal responsibility and better
stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF GSA VERIFICATION REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 524 of title 40, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a);
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking the semicolon and
inserting ``; and'';
(B) by striking paragraph (2); and
(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph
(2); and
(3) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections
(a) and (b), respectively.
(b) Procedure for Disposal.--Section 545 of title 40, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (7) by striking the semicolon and
inserting ``; or'';
(B) by striking paragraph (8); and
(C) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph
(8); and
(2) in subsection (d)--
(A) by striking ``Negotiated Sale at Fixed Price''
and all that follows through ``The Administrator may''
and inserting ``Negotiated Sale at Fixed Price.--The
Administrator may''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (2).
(c) Real Property.--Chapter 5 of title 40, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 574 the following new section:
``Sec. 575. Proceeds from sale of certain agency property
``Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, proceeds
from the sale of excess property or surplus property by an agency
pursuant to section 102-75.255 of title 41, Code of Federal
Regulations, shall be deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury
where such amounts shall be--
``(1) dedicated to the sole purpose of deficit reduction;
and
``(2) prohibited from use as an offset for other spending
increases or revenue reductions.''.
(d) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 5 of title 40,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 574 the following new item:
``575. Proceeds from sale of certain agency property.''.
(e) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall
issue such regulations as are necessary to update section 102-75.255 of
title 41, Code of Federal Regulations, to authorize executive agencies
to dispose of surplus property and excess property without making the
property available to other executive agencies or State and local
governments before such disposal.
(f) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``excess property'',
``executive agency'', and ``surplus property'' have the meaning given
such terms in section 102 of title 40, United States Code.
SEC. 4. GSA REPORTS.
(a) Review.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator of General
Services, in coordination with the Congressional Research Service,
shall submit to Congress a report containing the information described
in subsection (b).
(b) Contents of Report.--The report required under subsection (a)
shall contain the following:
(1) A survey of all unused or vacant office space held by
each executive agency and recommendations for reducing each
agency's real property assets, selling such assets in an
efficient manner, and addressing any potential safety hazards
associated with vacant office space.
(2) A survey of all the underutilized or partially empty
agency office space held by each executive agency and
recommendations for reducing each agency's real property
assets, selling such assets in an efficient manner, and
addressing any potential safety hazards associated with
partially empty office space.
(3) For each excess property and surplus property disposed
of by an executive agency, an indication of--
(A) the date and method of disposal; and
(B) the proceeds obtained from the disposition of
such disposal.
(4) For all excess property and surplus property disposed
of by all executive agencies, an indication of--
(A) the amount of time required to fully dispose of
excess property and surplus property under the custody
and control of all executive agencies; and
(B) the cost to dispose of excess property and
surplus property under the custody and control of all
executive agencies.
(c) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``excess property'',
``executive agency'', and ``surplus property'' have the meaning given
such terms in section 102 of title 40, United States Code.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
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