House Subcommittee Exposes Waste in Federal Real Estate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing to examine the challenges and opportunities related to reducing the size of the federal government’s real property footprint.

The hearing, entitled “Evaluating the Trump Administration’s Federal Real Property Reset,” focused on the Administration’s efforts to manage and dispose of underutilized and excess federal properties. The hearing built upon the Subcommittee’s extensive oversight work on federal real property issues, dating back to the Obama Administration.

Subcommittee Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) issued the following statement in response to the hearing:

“The federal government owns and leases hundreds of thousands of buildings and structures nationwide. This vast real property portfolio costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars to operate and maintain annually, which presents a tremendous opportunity for savings and efficiencies. I’m grateful for the Trump Administration’s decisive action on this front, including the establishment of the Public Buildings Reform Board, which offers a comprehensive approach to right-sizing and optimizing the federal government’s footprint.”

The Subcommittee examined Public Buildings Reform Board’s (PBRB) progress on implementing its recommendations for streamlining federal real property assets, and evaluating the General Services Administration’s (GSA) role in improving federal real property management. The hearing also addressed the challenges associated with managing and disposing of underutilized properties and identifying opportunities for streamlining the government’s real estate portfolio.

Key issues highlighted at the hearing included:

• The significance of the PBRB's work in identifying opportunities for cost savings and efficient management of federal property assets
• The importance of disposing of underutilized or excess properties
• The critical role GSA plays in improving federal property management.