Press Releases

Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Chairman Lou Barletta (R-PA) will host a Subcommittee roundtable policy discussion next week to examine the General Services Administration’s (GSA) leasing program and opportunities to take advantage of the current real estate market and reduce costs to the taxpayer.

Leased space constitutes more than half of GSA’s real estate portfolio.  In this Congress, through efforts to get GSA’s tenant agencies to improve their space utilization, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has authorized leases that will result in over $850 million in savings to the taxpayer over the terms of those leases.

Furthermore, 50% of GSA’s federal leases are set to expire in the next five years.  Given the current real estate market, Chairman Barletta and the Subcommittee are interested in beginning a discussion of how taxpayers could also benefit from opportunities for the federal government to negotiate favorable new rates in long-term lease situations. 

With the large amount of space in expiring leases, the roundtable will focus on the opportunity this presents to reduce costs and negotiate good lease deals for the taxpayer.  The roundtable will also include discussion of any challenges to taking full advantage of this opportunity and what solutions there may be to address those challenges.  

The roundtable policy discussion on “GSA Leasing Program: Examining Ways to Streamline and Reduce Costs” is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 15, 2014 in 2253 Rayburn House Office Building.  This roundtable will be webcast here.

Participants:

#   #   #