I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2573

To amend title 40, United States Code, to make reforms in the management 

and development of Federal real property. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2003

Mr. LATOURETTE (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, and Mr. 

OBERSTAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To amend title 40, United States Code, to make reforms 

in the management and development of Federal real 

property.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Private Part5 nership Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of subtitle II of title 40, 

8 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 
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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 39—FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY 

2 DEVELOPMENT

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘3901. Definitions. 

‘‘3902. Agreements with non-Federal entities. 

‘‘3903. Sunset.

3 ‘‘§ 3901. Definitions 

4 ‘‘In this chapter, the following definitions apply: 

5 ‘‘(1) EXCESS PROPERTY.—The term ‘excess 

6 property’ has the meaning given such term by sec7 tion 102. 

8 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND.—The term 

9 ‘Federal Buildings Fund’ means the fund estab10 lished by section 592. 

11 ‘‘(3) LANDHOLDING AGENCY.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (B), the term ‘landholding agency’ means 

14 any executive agency that, by specific or general 

15 statutory authority, has jurisdiction over prop16 erty that is real property. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘land18 holding agency’—

19 ‘‘(i) does not include an executive 

20 agency with respect to the agency—

21 ‘‘(I) disposing of an interest in 

22 real property for public benefit pur23 poses pursuant to section 545; 
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1 ‘‘(II) holding lands in trust or re2 stricted fee status for individual Indi3 ans or Indian tribes; or 

4 ‘‘(III) having jurisdiction over 

5 National Park System lands, National 

6 Forest System lands, or National 

7 Wildlife Refuge System lands; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) does not include the Bureau of 

9 Land Management. 

10 ‘‘(4) PROPERTY.—The term ‘property’ has the 

11 meaning given such term by section 102, and in12 cludes public buildings and the occupied or improved 

13 grounds of the United States generally. 

14 ‘‘§ 3902. Agreements with non-Federal entities 

15 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the require17 ments of this section, the Administrator of General 

18 Services may enter into agreements with non-Fed19 eral entities to provide for—

20 ‘‘(A) the acquisition, lease, construction, 

21 rehabilitation, operation, maintenance, or use of 

22 real property under the jurisdiction of the Gen23 eral Services Administration or another land24 holding agency; or 
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1 ‘‘(B) such other activities related to the 

2 real property as the Administrator considers 

3 appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(2) LANDHOLDING AGENCIES OTHER THAN

5 GSA.—In the case of real property under the juris6 diction of a landholding agency other than the Gen7 eral Services Administration, the Administrator may 

8 enter into an agreement under this subsection only 

9 upon the written request of the head of the land10 holding agency. 

11 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY OF REAL PROPERTY.—The Admin12 istrator may enter into an agreement under subsection (a) 

13 with respect to real property only if the head of the land14 holding agency with jurisdiction over the property deter15 mines in writing that the real property is not excess prop16 erty. 

17 ‘‘(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—An agreement en18 tered into under section (a) with respect to real property 

19 under the jurisdiction of a landholding agency—

20 ‘‘(1) shall have as its primary purpose enhanc21 ing the value of the real property to the United 

22 States; 

23 ‘‘(2) shall provide that any obligation of an 

24 agency under the agreement is subject to the avail-
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1 ability of appropriated funds or the availability of re2 ceipts authorized by subsection (h); 

3 ‘‘(3) shall be for a term that is not longer than 

4 50 years; 

5 ‘‘(4) shall be negotiated pursuant to such proce6 dures as the Administrator considers necessary to 

7 ensure the integrity of the selection process and to 

8 protect the interests of the United States; 

9 ‘‘(5) shall support the goals and objectives set 

10 forth in a plan to be developed by the landholding 

11 agency to improve real property management deci12 sions, reduce costs, and maximize portfolio perform13 ance, which plan shall address, at a minimum, life 

14 cycle planning and preservation of asset value; 

15 ‘‘(6) may provide a lease option to the United 

16 States, to be exercised at the discretion of the Ad17 ministrator, to occupy any office, storage, or other 

18 space in a facility covered under the agreement that 

19 may be suitable for use by one or more Federal 

20 agencies; 

21 ‘‘(7) shall not provide, unless specifically deter22 mined otherwise by the Administrator, that owner23 ship of a facility covered under the agreement be 

24 transferred to the United States at or shortly after 

25 the expiration of any lease of the facility to the 
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1 United States, but may provide that ownership of 

2 the facility be transferred to the United States be3 fore the expiration of the agreement; 

4 ‘‘(8) shall describe the consideration, duties, 

5 and responsibilities for which the United States and 

6 the non-Federal entity are responsible; 

7 ‘‘(9) shall provide—

8 ‘‘(A) that the United States will not be lia9 ble for any action, debt, or liability of any enti10 ty created by the agreement; and 

11 ‘‘(B) that the non-Federal entity may not 

12 execute any instrument or document creating or 

13 evidencing any indebtedness unless such instru14 ment or document specifically disclaims any li15 ability of the United States under the instru16 ment or document; and 

17 ‘‘(10) shall include such other terms and condi18 tions as the Administrator considers appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(d) CONSIDERATION.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An agreement entered into 

21 under subsection (a) shall be for fair consideration, 

22 as determined by the Administrator. 

23 ‘‘(2) IN-KIND CONSIDERATION.—Consideration 

24 under such an agreement may be provided in whole 

25 or in part through in-kind consideration, including 
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1 provision of space, goods, or services of benefit to 

2 the United States. Such services may include con3 struction, repair, remodeling, or other physical im4 provements of Federal property, maintenance of 

5 Federal property, or the provision of office, storage, 

6 or other usable space. 

7 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—In carrying out an 

8 agreement entered into under subsection (a), the Adminis9 trator may convey interests in real property, by lease or 

10 exchange, to a non-Federal entity. 

11 ‘‘(f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—

12 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT FOR CONGRESSIONAL AP13 PROVAL.—An agreement entered into under sub14 section (a) shall not be subject to section 3307. 

15 ‘‘(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this 

17 section, the Administrator may waive require18 ments of Federal law relating to the acquisition, 

19 lease, construction, rehabilitation, operation, 

20 maintenance, or use of real property if the Ad21 ministrator determines, in writing, that the 

22 waiver is necessary to achieve the purposes of 

23 this section. 

24 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Nothing in subpara25 graph (A) shall be construed to authorize the 
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1 Administrator to waive a requirement of Fed2 eral law relating to the environment, labor, or 

3 historic preservation. 

4 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON DELEGATION.—The 

5 Administrator may not delegate the authority 

6 granted under subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(g) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before entering into an 

9 agreement under subsection (a), the Administrator 

10 shall transmit to Congress a report on the proposed 

11 agreement. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A report transmitted under 

13 this subsection shall include—

14 ‘‘(A) a summary of a cost-benefit analysis 

15 of the proposed agreement; 

16 ‘‘(B) a statement of the fair market value 

17 of any real property covered under the proposed 

18 agreement; 

19 ‘‘(C) a description of the provisions of the 

20 proposed agreement, including the consideration 

21 received; 

22 ‘‘(D) a description of actions to be taken 

23 under the proposed agreement to comply with 

24 applicable Federal laws, including environ25 mental, historic preservation, and labor laws; 
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1 ‘‘(E) a description of how the proposed 

2 agreement departs from standard agency prac3 tices relating to the acquisition, lease, construc4 tion, rehabilitation, operation, maintenance, or 

5 use of real property otherwise authorized under 

6 this part; and 

7 ‘‘(F) a description of the extent to which 

8 the proposed agreement is consistent with State 

9 and local zoning requirements. 

10 ‘‘(3) REVIEW BY CONGRESS.—A proposed 

11 agreement under subsection (a) may not become ef12 fective before the earlier of—

13 ‘‘(A) the end of a 45-day period of contin14 uous session of Congress following the date of 

15 the transmittal of a report on the agreement 

16 under this subsection; or 

17 ‘‘(B) the end of the 60-day period fol18 lowing such date of transmittal.

19 For purposes of subparagraph (A), continuity of a 

20 session of Congress is broken only by an adjourn21 ment sine die, and there shall be excluded from the 

22 computation of such 45-day period any day during 

23 which either House of Congress is not in session 

24 during an adjournment of more than 5 days to a day 

25 certain. 
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1 ‘‘(h) PROCEEDS.—

2 ‘‘(1) DEPOSIT IN FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND.—

3 ‘‘(A) PROCEEDS FROM REAL PROPERTY OF

4 GSA.—Net proceeds from an agreement entered 

5 into under subsection (a) involving real prop6 erty under the jurisdiction of the General Serv7 ices Administration shall be deposited into the 

8 Federal Buildings Fund. 

9 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDS FROM REAL PROPERTY OF

10 OTHER LANDHOLDING AGENCIES.—Net pro11 ceeds from an agreement entered into under 

12 subsection (a) involving real property under the 

13 jurisdiction of a landholding agency other than 

14 the General Services Administration shall be de15 posited into a separate account in the Federal 

16 Buildings Fund to be established for the land17 holding agency by the Secretary of the Treas18 ury. 

19 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION OF AMOUNTS.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts deposited 

21 into the Federal Buildings Fund under this 

22 subsection, including amounts deposited into an 

23 account established for a landholding agency 

24 under paragraph (1)(B), shall be administered 
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1 and expended, subject to appropriations Acts, 

2 as part of the Federal Buildings Fund. 

3 ‘‘(B) USE OF AMOUNTS IN AGENCY AC4 COUNTS.—Amounts deposited into an account 

5 established for a landholding agency under 

6 paragraph (1)(B) are authorized to be appro7 priated to the Administrator of General Serv8 ices for real property management and related 

9 activities of the landholding agency, at the writ10 ten request of the head of the landholding agen11 cy. 

12 ‘‘(3) RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.—

13 ‘‘(A) EXPENSES OF GSA.—The Adminis14 trator may retain from the proceeds of any 

15 agreement entered into under subsection (a) 

16 amounts necessary to recover the expenses in17 curred by the Administrator with respect to the 

18 agreement. Such amounts shall be deposited 

19 into the account in the Treasury from which 

20 the Administrator incurred the expenses. 

21 ‘‘(B) EXPENSES OF OTHER LANDHOLDING

22 AGENCIES.—In the case of an agreement en23 tered into under subsection (a) involving real 

24 property under the jurisdiction of a landholding 

25 agency other than the General Services Admin-
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1 istration, the Administrator shall reimburse the 

2 agency, out of the proceeds of the agreement, 

3 for expenses incurred by the agency with re4 spect to the real property. Such amounts shall 

5 be deposited into the account in the Treasury 

6 from which the agency incurred the expenses. 

7 ‘‘(4) NET PROCEEDS.—In this section, the term 

8 ‘net proceeds’ means, with respect to an agreement 

9 entered into under this section, the proceeds from 

10 the agreement minus the expenses incurred by the 

11 General Services Administration and any other land12 holding agency with respect to the agreement. 

13 ‘‘(i) JURISDICTION OVER REAL PROPERTY.—For 

14 purposes of this section, a landholding agency shall be con15 sidered to have jurisdiction over real property if the agen16 cy has jurisdiction, custody, and control of the property. 

17 ‘‘§ 3903. Sunset 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The authority of the Adminis19 trator of General Services to enter into an agreement 

20 under section 3902 shall expire on the last day of the 6-

21 year period beginning on the date of enactment of this 

22 chapter. 

23 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENTS TRANSMITTED TO CONGRESS.—

24 Subsection (a) shall not apply to an agreement for which 

25 the Administrator has transmitted a report to Congress 
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1 under section 3902(g) before the last day of the 6-year 

2 period referred to in subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(c) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.—Subsection (a) shall 

4 not affect the Administrator’s authority to carry out the 

5 Administrator’s responsibilities under an agreement en6 tered into before the last day of the 6-year period referred 

7 to in subsection (a) or an agreement described in sub8 section (b).’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

10 part A of subtitle II of title 40, United States Code, is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘39. FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT ................. 3901’’.

12 SEC. 3. SCOPE AND CONSTRUCTION. 

13 The authorities granted by this Act (including the 

14 amendments made by this Act) to the heads of Federal 

15 agencies for the management of real property and the con16 duct of transactions involving such property, shall be in 

17 addition to, and not in lieu of, any authorities provided 

18 in any law existing on the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 Except as expressly provided herein, nothing in this Act 

20 (including the amendments made by this Act) shall be con21 strued to repeal or supersede any such authorities. 

22 SEC. 4. NO WAIVER. 

23 Nothing in this Act (including the amendments made 

24 by this Act) shall be construed to limit or waive any right, 

25 remedy, immunity, or jurisdiction of any Federal agency 
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1 or any claim, judgment, lien, or benefit due the Govern2 ment of the United States. 

3 SEC. 5. REPORT OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 

4 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

6 shall submit to Congress a report on the use by Adminis7 trator of General Services of the authorities provided by 

8 this Act. 

9 SEC. 6. REPEAL. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1302 of title 40, United 

11 States Code, is repealed. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

13 chapter 13 of such title is amended by striking the item 

14 relating to section 1302.

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