Press Releases

Committee Passes Bill to Cut Waste in Federal Real Property Management;

Bill to Streamline General Aviation Certification Process Also Approved

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure today unanimously approved bipartisan legislation to reform the agency responsible for managing the majority of the Federal Government’s real property and office space.  The legislation increases transparency and oversight of federal public buildings programs and helps ensure that agencies reduce their real estate footprint, better utilize office space, and save taxpayers’ money.

The Public Buildings Savings and Reform Act of 2013 (H.R. 2612) improves the function and management of the Public Buildings Service of the General Services Administration (GSA).  The bill addresses waste and mismanagement identified by Committee investigations, Government Accountability Office studies, and the GSA Inspector General, including expansion of the federal real property footprint, the lack of transparency on federal property information and utilization, the overbuilding of federal courthouses, and GSA’s bonus and internship systems and conferences.

“Thousands of federal properties sit vacant and thousands more are underutilized, but instead of better using the space they already have, federal agencies often unnecessarily go out and lease more space,” said Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), who cosponsored H.R. 2612.  “The Public Buildings Savings and Reform Act provides needed reforms to help eliminate this senseless waste.  The bill freezes GSA’s real property footprint, improves transparency and oversight of public buildings, strengthens this Committee’s oversight of GSA, and cuts waste in spending on exorbitant conferences, bonuses, and travel.”

“There are thousands of square feet of unused office space spread around federal buildings, and government agencies have made headlines with their extravagant parties and conferences,” said Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Chairman Lou Barletta (R-PA), who introduced H.R. 2612 in the House.  “We have to get a better grip on this kind of frivolous spending.  Every family has to watch its budget and live within its means.  This bill will help hold accountable federal agencies that for too long have spent taxpayer resources with too little conscience.”

Summary of the Public Buildings Savings and Reform Act of 2013

Improving the Management of Federal Real Property

• Freezes GSA’s real estate footprint
• Requires GSA to develop a system to track and report on actual utilization of space
• Requires all space requests to be fully justified
• Sunsets authorizations after five years if GSA has not initiated the project
• Limits the independent leasing authorities of certain agencies outside of the GSA (earlier this year the Committee held a hearing highlighting Nuclear Regulatory Commission costly abuses of its independent leasing authority)

Strengthening Transparency and Oversight

• Requires GSA to provide annual lists of leases signed in the previous fiscal year
• Requires an Inspector General review of GSA’s internship programs
• Establishes a moratorium on bonuses for Senior Executive Service (SES) employees
• Requires GSA to provide reports on conferences
• Requires GSA to submit a budget on proposed administrative costs of the Public Buildings Service

Saving Taxpayers’ Money

• Reduces costs related to courthouses by establishing limitations on the number of courtrooms that can be constructed based on courtroom sharing policies (in April, a Committee hearing highlighted waste in federal courthouse construction)
• Sets caps for project escalations in cost and scope
• Minimizes leased space costs by requiring GSA to report on leases exceeding standard rental rates

The Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013

The Committee also unanimously approved the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013 (H.R. 1848), a bill that helps streamline the general aviation regulatory regime in a manner that will improve safety, reduce costs, and stimulate innovation.

The general aviation industry includes nearly 600,000 pilots, employs roughly 1.3 million people, and contributes approximately $150 billion annually to the U.S. economy.  However, current airplane certification regulations for general aviation are outdated, overly prescriptive, and prohibit the application and use of efficient and cost-effective safety solutions.  H.R. 1848, introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS), updates the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) aircraft certification processes governing general aviation and reduces costs and regulatory burdens for bringing new products to market.

“I commend Congressman Pompeo for introducing this bill, which is really about good government,” said Subcommittee on Aviation Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ).  “H.R. 1848 will make necessary, common sense reforms to the existing prescriptive regulatory regime, which will improve the safety of general aviation at half the cost and help revitalize this critical industry.”

The legislation requires the FAA to issue a final rule for new small airplane safety standards that will:

• Create a streamlined regulatory regime that improves safety and decreases costs
• Set safety objectives that stimulate innovation and technology adoption
• Replace the existing prescriptive regulatory regime with new standards for compliance and testing
• Use FAA-accepted consensus standards to clarify how updated safety objectives may be met by specific designs and technologies

The Committee also approved several additional measures today, including:

• H.R. 2576, a bill to protect intellectual property rights and provide more flexibility for making pipeline safety technological standards information available to the public
• H.R. 2611, a bill to designate the United States Coast Guard Headquarters the “Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters Building”
• H. Con. Res. 44, authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the District of Columbia Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run
• A General Services Administration Resolution for repairs to a facility in Auburn, WA

More information, including legislative text and video, is available here. 

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