Press Releases

On Saturday, the Senate approved the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act (H.R. 4465), bipartisan legislation to shrink the federal footprint and streamline the disposal of excess or underutilized federal buildings to save taxpayers billions of dollars.  The House approved H.R. 4465 in May, and with the Senate’s approval, the bill now goes to the president.

“Empty buildings are costing taxpayers billions and should be divested or redeveloped to help pay down our national debt as quickly as possible,” said U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), primary sponsor of the bill.  “My bill will cut through the red tape and put in place systems to make property management work for taxpayers.  I look forward to the bill becoming law and starting the process of saving taxpayer money.”

“This bill requires the creation of a sorely needed database of federal real property, and addresses long-standing difficulties in redeveloping or selling valuable, excess, and underutilized assets,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA).  “Chairman Denham’s work over the years on this effort will result in billions of dollars in savings for the taxpayer.”

“The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 reflects a collaborative effort to improve real estate management in the federal government,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR).  “This legislation provides for a rigorous inventory and analysis of federal real property, creating a board to provide an objective perspective on the value and usefulness of the federal government’s real estate assets while streamlining the real estate disposal process.  I commend my colleagues for their work on this bipartisan bill.”

“This bill has been years in the making and I commend my colleague, Representative Jeff Denham, for all his hard work,” said Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).  “The bill ensures accountability and brings to an end agency land-banking at taxpayer expense.  By requiring a complete, publicly accessible database of all the federal government’s real property assets, this bill allows for greater oversight by Congress and the American people.”

“I’m pleased my colleagues and I were able to pass this bipartisan legislation that will save taxpayers billions of dollars and create a workable method to expedite the sale of vacant federal buildings,” said Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD).  “This bill also continues and enhances homeless assistance organizations’ priority consideration for surplus federal buildings to use as shelters or permanent housing for our most vulnerable citizens.”

“This is an important step forward as we improve our handling of federal properties and office space and I commend Congressman Denham for his work on this issue,” said Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Chairman Lou Barletta (R-PA).  “These reforms will shrink the federal footprint and allow us to become better stewards of taxpayer dollars.  This builds on the work I have done in my subcommittee, where we have saved more than $3 billion by better managing real estate and leases.”

“The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act will cut millions of taxpayer dollars wasted each year maintaining unnecessary properties,” said Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Ranking Member André Carson (D-IN).  “The independent board created by this bill provides a source of revenue for the federal government to maintain existing buildings by disposing of unneeded and underutilized real estate and consolidating federal real estate functions where it is appropriate.  I am pleased to have worked with members of this Committee in a bipartisan manner to reform the management of federal real estate.”

The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 implements reforms to shrink the size of government and help ensure savings by selling or redeveloping high value properties, consolidating federal space, maximizing the utilization rates of space, and streamlining the disposal of unneeded assets.

The bill establishes a Public Buildings Reform Board of members who will identify opportunities to reduce the real property inventory and make recommendations for the sale of up to $8 billion worth of underutilized and vacant federal properties.  The bill also requires the General Services Administration to create and publish a single, comprehensive database of all federal real properties, including whether those properties are excess, surplus, underutilized, or unutilized to prevent a future stockpiling of unused and underutilized property.

Click here for more information about the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016.