U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

29–010 

" ! SENATE 112th Congress 

2d Session 

REPORT

2012

112–241 

Calendar No. 555 

FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY ASSET 

MANAGEMENT REFORM ACT OF 2012 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 2178 

together with 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

TO REQUIRE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO EXPEDITE THE 

SALE OF UNDERUTILIZED FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY 

congress.#13 

NOVEMBER 27, 2012.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

MARK BEGICH, Alaska 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

MICHAEL L. ALEXANDER, Staff Director 

BETH M. GROSSMAN, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

KRISTINE V. LAM, Professional Staff Member 

VELVET D. JOHNSON, Counsel, Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government 

Information, Federal Services, and International Security 

NICHOLAS A. ROSSI, Minority Staff Director 

MARK B. LEDUC, Minority General Counsel 

PATRICK J. BAILEY, Minority Associate Counsel 

TRINA DRIESSNACK TYRER, Chief Clerk 


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Calendar No. 555 

112th Congress REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 112–241 

FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY ASSET MANAGEMENT REFORM 

ACT OF 2012 

NOVEMBER 27, 2012.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. LIEBERMAN, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2178] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 2178) to require the Federal Government to expedite the sale of underutilized Federal real property, 

having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends that the 

bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose ........................................................................................................... 1 

II. Background and Need for Legislation .......................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 6 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported .................................. 7 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 10 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Estimate ......................................................... 10 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................... 13 

VIII. Additional Views ............................................................................................ 24 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The purpose of S. 2178 is to streamline the current statutory 

framework governing the disposal of Federal real property, so that 

the government can dispose of unneeded or underutilized properties in a more efficient and timely manner. The bill provides the 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with temporary authority 

to expedite the disposal of unneeded Federal real property and creates a financial incentive for agencies to achieve greater efficiency 

in their real estate portfolios. Additionally, the bill requires the 

Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 


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1 U.S. Government Accountability Office, High Risk Series: Federal Real Property (Jan. 2003) 

(GAO–03–122). 2 Id. 

3 U.S. Government Accountability Office, High Risk Series: An Update (Jan. 2009) (GAO–09– 

271); U.S. Government Accountability Office, High Risk Series: An Update (Feb. 2011) (GAO– 

11–278). 4The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Presidential Memorandum—Disposing of 

Unneeded Federal Real Estate (June 10, 2010). Can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/thepress-office/presidential-memorandum-disposing-unneeded-federal-real-estate. 5 Exec. Order No. 13327, 69 Fed. Reg. 5897 (Feb. 4, 2004). 

6White House, Presidential Memorandum—Disposing of Unneeded Federal Real Estate (June 

10, 2010). Can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-disposing-unneeded-Federal-real-estate). 

(HUD) to use funds made available through the expedited disposal 

program to provide grants to eligible non-profit organizations for 

the purposes of acquiring or rehabilitating property in order to provide housing or shelter for the homeless. 

II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

Property management is one of the most pressing management 

problems facing the Federal government today—so much so, that 

the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has for nearly a decade continuously placed real property management on its ‘‘high 

risk list’’ of programs whose management problems expose taxpayers to at least $1 billion in waste annually.1 In 2003, GAO cited 

long-standing problems with (1) excess and underutilized property; 

(2) deteriorating and aging facilities; (3) unreliable property data; 

and (4) a heavy reliance on costly leasing instead of ownership to 

meet new needs.2 By early 2009 and again in early 2011, GAO confirmed that, while agencies had taken some positive steps to address real property issues, some of the core problems that led to 

the original high-risk designation persist.3

Both the current and previous administrations have demonstrated a commitment to addressing the Federal government’s 

property management challenges. In response to administrative reform initiatives and related executive orders and memoranda, by 

2003, many Federal agencies established real property asset management plans, standardized property data, and adopted property 

management performance measures.4 A 2004 Presidential Executive Order established a Federal Real Property Council (FRPC), 

comprised of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Controller and senior real property officers of all twenty-four landholding agencies and charged with promoting reform efforts.5 Most 

recently, a June 2010 presidential memorandum directed agencies 

to identify and eliminate excess properties to produce a $3 billion 

cost savings by the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. The memo directed that these cost savings be derived from increased proceeds 

from the sale of assets and reduced operating, maintenance, and 

energy expenses from disposals or other space consolidation efforts.6

Despite these efforts, weaknesses in the property disposition 

process have left the Federal government with a large inventory of 

vacant and underutilized properties. While there continue to be 

problems with missing data on this inventory, the twenty-four 

agencies required to submit property data in FY 2010 collectively 

reported that they currently own or lease more than 3.35 billion 


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7Federal Real Property Council, FY 2010 Federal Real Property Report: An Overview of the 

U.S. Government’s Real Property Assets, p. 3. Can be found at http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/ogp/ 

FY_2010_FRPP_Report_Final.pdf. 8 Id. at 4. 9 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Progress Made in Reducing 

Unneeded Property, but VA Needs Better Information to Make Further Reductions (Sept. 2008) 

(GAO–08–939), p. 39. 

square feet of building floor area in 399,000 separate buildings.7

About 557 million square feet (or seventeen percent) of this total 

space is leased. Of these assets, nearly 78,000 were reported vacant 

or underutilized, costing the Federal government more than $1.6 

billion in annual operating expenses.8

Vacant and underutilized Federal properties are costly to maintain. Every unneeded square foot of building space held by the Federal government requires annual funding for operations and maintenance. This includes the costs of cleaning, heating, lighting, landscaping, and security, as well as any costs related to mortgage or 

lease payments. Additionally, holding unneeded property carries a 

hidden opportunity cost due to both the lost revenues that would 

be gained from selling the property. Over a long period of time, and 

with a large number of unneeded properties in the government’s 

portfolio, the costs could likely add up to hundreds of millions, if 

not billions, of dollars wasted. In addition, when an agency holds 

on to a property it no longer needs, that property cannot be used 

by other entities such as private business or non-profits to create 

jobs, spur innovation, increase local and national prosperity, or 

meet other needs. These properties could be put to more cost-beneficial uses, exchanged for other needed property, or sold to generate 

revenue for the Federal government. 

The Committee is concerned that the current process in place for 

disposing of Federal property is inefficient and largely at fault for 

the costs agencies incur each year to maintain vacant and underutilized properties. The disposal process, governed by 40 U.S.C. 5 

subchapters III and IV, and under part 101 of title 41 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations, requires agencies to report excess property 

to the General Services Administration (GSA). GSA then makes it 

available to other Federal agencies, which generally pay market 

value for properties they wish to acquire. However, if no Federal 

agency expresses interest, the property is deemed surplus Federal 

and must then go through a lengthy screening process to determine 

whether it can be offered to state and local governments, and qualified nonprofits, for use in accomplishing public purposes specified 

in statutes, such as use as educational facilities or for providing 

services to the homeless. Conveyances under these procedures are 

either donated or made at values below the fair market. 

Agencies have consistently argued that these statutory requirements slow down the disposal process, compelling agencies to incur 

operating costs for extended periods of time while the properties 

are being screened. For example, real property officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have said the McKinney-Vento 

Act, which mandates that all surplus property be screened for 

homeless use, can add as much as two years to the disposal process.9 Because public benefit conveyance requirements are set in 

law, agencies do not have the authority to bypass this step in the 

process, even for surplus properties that cannot be realistically conveyed, such as those that are uninhabitable due to environmental 


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10 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Progress Made Toward Addressing Problems, but Underlying Obstacles Continue to Hamper Reform, (April 2007) (GAO– 

07–349), p. 40. 11 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Buildings Fund: Improved Transparency 

and Long-Term Plan Needed to Clarify Capital Funding Priorities (July 2012) (GAO–12–656), 

p. 16. 12 Id. 13 Id. 14 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Authorities and Actions Regarding Enhanced Use Leases and Sale of Unneeded Real Property (Feb. 2009) (GAO–09–283R), 

p. 4. 15 Id. 16Testimony given to the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security. Peck, Robert, General Services 

Administration, June 9, 2011, p. 3. 

concerns. Similarly, the Department of Energy (DOE) informed 

auditors that it has properties that could be disposed of only by 

demolition, due to their condition or location, but were still subject 

to the screening process, thereby forcing the agency to pay maintenance costs that could have been avoided.10 While undoubtedly 

well intentioned, these requirements have created a patchwork of 

cumbersome and confusing rules. Their net effect has been to discourage agencies from initiating disposal actions, thereby depriving 

non-Federal entities of the opportunity to make more productive 

use of these properties. 

The second major obstacle in the disposal process is the lack of 

financial resources necessary for many agencies to dispose of their 

surplus facilities. Vacant and underutilized properties are often 

among the older, most deteriorating assets in agencies’ portfolios. 

Agencies must complete expensive repairs and renovations before 

the properties are ready for disposal. At the end of FY 2011, GSA 

identified a $4.6 billion maintenance and repair liability for the 

next 10 years.11 Of this total, $1.3 billion is for immediate maintenance and repair needs.12 However, funding for restoration and repairs has declined since 2006 and will be difficult to obtain in the 

current fiscal environment.13

Further exacerbating the problem, current law requires most 

agencies to return funds received from the sale of surplus property 

to the Treasury, even though it can require a significant upfront 

investment to get a building ready for disposal. Therefore, an agency that goes through the lengthy disposal process, and uses significant budgetary and personnel resources to do it, is not able to retain the proceeds from the sale. With little incentive to spend the 

money and other resources needed to dispose of the property, property managers often decide to pay for continued maintenance of vacant or underutilized property rather than to go through the trouble and cost of disposing of it. 

Certain agencies have been granted specific statutory authority 

to retain proceeds from the sale of their property.14 Retention of 

proceeds has proven to be an effective tool for Federal agencies to 

dispose of their unneeded properties.15 In testimony before the 

Committee, Robert Peck, the former Commissioner of the Public 

Buildings Service at GSA, reported that proceeds retention authority has given agencies the incentive to eliminate unneeded assets 

and an important source of reinvestment funds.16 For that reason, 

the Committee believes it is appropriate under the pilot program 

authorized in S. 2178 to allow agencies to recoup the costs of preVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:06 Nov 29, 2012 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR241.XXX SR241

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17 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Overreliance on Leasing Contributed to High-Risk Designation (Aug. 2011) (GAO–11–879T), p. 1. 18 Id. 19 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Reliance on Costly Leasing 

to Meet New Space Needs is an Ongoing Problem (Oct. 2005) (GAO–06–136T), p. 2. 20 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Inspector General, Improper Actions Relating to the Leasing of Office Space (May 2011) (Case No. OIG–553), p. 2. 

paring a property for sale, plus up to 18 percent of net proceeds, 

as an incentive for disposing of these properties. 

Compounding the Federal government’s property management 

challenges is agencies’ reliance on costly leasing, instead of ownership, to meet new space needs. In a 2011 report, GAO noted that 

overreliance on costly leased space was one of the primary reasons 

that Federal real property management remains a high-risk area.17

According to GAO, the Federal government leases more property 

than it owns.18 While leasing may be a viable option when an 

agency has a desire or need for flexibility or a short-term need, 

studies have shown that building ownership options through construction or purchase are generally the least expensive ways to 

meet agencies’ long-term occupancy needs.19

Under current law, the GSA is authorized to lease property for 

itself and on behalf of many other agencies; however, certain agencies have limited independent leasing authority, which means they 

do not have to work with GSA to acquire leased space. Some agencies with independent leasing authority, such as the VA, have established in-house real estate expertise, while other agencies with 

independent leasing authority have not. For example, in 2010, the 

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) executed a $557 million, 10-year lease for 900,000 square feet of office space, which the 

SEC’s Inspector General described as ‘‘another in a long history of 

missteps and misguided leasing decisions made by the SEC since 

it was granted independent leasing authority by Congress in 

1990.’’ 20 The Committee believes that urgent action is needed to 

consolidate Federal operations onto government-owned sites, where 

appropriate, thereby reducing the Federal government’s leasing 

portfolio in a way that is advantageous for Federal agencies, stakeholders, and the clientele served by those agencies. This legislation 

puts in place a strategy for reducing the amount of leased space 

used for long-term needs when doing so would be less costly. 

Homeless advocates have raised concerns regarding the proposed 

changes to the McKinney-Vento program. However, although thousands of properties are screened every year for homeless use, very 

few are deemed suitable for transfer to groups assisting the homeless population and even fewer are actually donated to those 

groups. According to data provided to Committee by GAO, since the 

inception of the McKinney Vento program in 1987, only 81 properties have been conveyed to groups assisting the homeless, and in 

the past ten years, only 37 properties have been conveyed. Last 

year, only one property was given to homeless assistance groups. 

Meanwhile both taxpayer dollars and energy resources are being 

wasted to maintain the excess assets in line to be screened or are 

tied up in legal disputes. 

S. 2178 offers a common sense approach that would allow the 

federal government to maintain its commitment to the homeless, 

but to do so in a more cost-effective way. First, it would only waive 

homeless screenings for a small subset of properties that are seVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:06 Nov 29, 2012 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR241.XXX SR241

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lected to go through the temporary disposal program we authorize. 

The language is carefully drafted to make only those properties 

that can bring in significant revenue eligible for that process. The 

remaining properties would still be subject to the McKinney-Vento 

Act. Moreover, the bill authorizes a grant program that would provide 2 percent of the proceeds from the properties sold under the 

bill to allow homeless providers to purchase or rehabilitate alternative properties to those being sold. 

The Committee believes that many of the obstacles that contribute to poor property management can be addressed by offering 

agencies incentives to dispose of underutilized property, requiring 

agencies to maintain better data on its real property, and prohibiting agencies from acquiring new real property without disposing 

of underutilized properties. While the Federal government should 

always strive to be a good steward of the land and property it 

owns, it is especially important during a time of shrinking budgets 

and scarce resources. S. 2178 sets Federal agencies on the path towards improved real property management by facilitating the disposal of unneeded facilities, while establishing a framework for 

Federal agencies to make more efficient use of existing space. The 

measure also eliminates costly leasing arrangements, particularly 

when agencies would be better served by owning the building. This 

legislation has the potential to generate billions of dollars in proceeds and savings that can be used to reduce the budget deficit and 

to help agencies obtain the resources that will allow them to better 

maintain the property necessary for them to fulfill their mission. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

On June 9, 2011, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security held a hearing to discuss weaknesses in Federal 

real property management identified by GAO. Witnesses at the 

hearing were: the Honorable Alan Dixon, Former Chairman, Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission; Dave Baxa, 

Chief Executive Officer, VISTA Technology Services, Inc.; Tim 

Ford, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Defense Communities; 

Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director, National Law Center on 

Homelessness and Poverty; the Honorable Daniel I. Werfel, Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget; Robert Peck, Commissioner, Public Buildings 

Service, U.S. General Services Administration; James Sullivan, Director, Office of Asset Enterprise Management, U.S. Department of 

Veterans Affairs; David Wise, Director, Physical Infrastructure 

Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office; and Brian Lepore, 

Director, Defense Capabilities and Management, U.S. Government 

Accountability Office. 

On August 4, 2011, the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security held a hearing evaluating Federal leasing trends 

and challenges. Witnesses at the hearing were: the Honorable 

David Kotz, Inspector General, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; David Foley, Deputy Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, U.S. General Services Administration; James Sullivan, Director, Office of Asset Enterprise Management, U.S. Department of 


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Veterans Affairs; Jeff Heslop, Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and David Wise, Director, Physical 

Infrastructure Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office. 

On March 8, 2012, Senators Carper and Portman introduced S. 

2178, which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs. The Committee initially considered the 

legislation at a business meeting on June 27, 2012. The Committee 

adopted a substitute amendment offered by Senators Carper, 

Portman, Brown, Pryor, Coburn, Collins, McCaskill, and Begich by 

voice vote with Senator Akaka asking to be recorded as voting 

present. Present for the vote were Senators Lieberman, Akaka, 

Carper, Begich, Collins, Johnson, and Portman. The substitute 

amendment requires Federal agencies to achieve $15 billion in real 

estate savings over a 10-year period, prohibits agencies from acquiring additional space unless the square footage of the increase 

is offset by the disposal of space from the inventory of that agency, 

and makes technical changes. 

The Committee continued its business meeting on June 29, 2012. 

On that date, it ordered the bill favorably reported by voice vote 

with Senator Levin asking to be recorded as voting against the bill 

and Senator Akaka asking to be recorded as voting present. Members present for the vote on the bill were Senators Lieberman, 

Levin, Akaka, Carper, Pryor, Landrieu, Tester, Begich, Collins, 

Brown, McCain, Johnson, Portman, and Moran. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1 

This section amends 5 U.S.C. § 40 to add a new ‘‘Subchapter 

VII—Expedited Disposal of Real Property.’’ The new subchapter 

would contain new sections 621 through 627 in title 40, as follows: 

Section 621. Definitions 

Section 621 defines the following terms for purposes of the pilot 

program: Administrator, Council, Director, Disposal, Federal Agency, Real Property, Field Office, Small Business Concern, and Underutilized Property. 

Real property, the term used to refer to the property targeted by 

the legislative changes in the bill, is defined as any Federal asset 

and includes Federal buildings, occupied and improved grounds, 

leased space, or other physical structures under the custody and 

control of any Federal agency. 

Section 622. Duties of Federal agencies 

Section 622 requires executive agencies to develop a system of 

managing their real property holdings. Agencies are required to: 

maintain adequate inventory controls and accountability systems; 

define future workforce projections and their real property needs; 

identify underutilized properties through ongoing surveys; report 

underutilized property to GSA promptly; establish goals for reducing underutilized property; reassign underutilized property to another activity within the agency; transfer underutilized property to 

other Federal agencies; obtain underutilized properties from other 

Federal agencies before acquiring nonfederal property when new 


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space is needed; and adopt workplace practices, management techniques, and space configurations that decrease the need for space. 

Section 623. Establishment of a Federal Real Property Council 

This section establishes the Federal Real Property Council 

(FRPC) comprised of the Senior Real Property Officer of each agency, the Deputy Director for Management of OMB, the OMB Controller and the GSA Administrator. The Deputy Director for Management of OMB will chair the FRPC and provide administrative 

support and funding as necessary. This section requires the FRPC 

to develop government-wide asset management guidance for executive branch agencies. 

This section also requires the FRPC to publish an annual asset 

management plan that includes performance measures allowing 

Congress to track progress in achieving property management 

goals government-wide and compare the performance of executive 

agencies against industry and other public sector agencies. 

Finally, the provision directs that within 180 days after the enactment of this legislation and annually for a five-year period 

thereafter, the FRPC must submit to Congress a list of agency field 

offices that are suitable for co-location with another Federal civilian property asset, including assets owned by the U.S. Postal Service. Within 30 days of the submission of this list, the OMB Director 

and the Postmaster General must identify the field offices within 

a reasonable distance of Postal property. Not later than 90 days 

after the receipt of the list, the Postmaster General must review 

the list and submit to the Director of OMB a report containing the 

conclusions of the review. After these steps are completed, agencies 

may lease space in Postal Service facilities for durations of not less 

than five years at a cost that is within 5 percent of the prevailing 

market lease rate of similarly situated space. 

Section 624. Database 

This section requires the GSA Administrator to establish and 

maintain a single comprehensive and descriptive database of all 

Federal real property. The Administrator is required to collect the 

information necessary to describe the nature, use, and size of the 

government’s portfolio, and to make the database accessible to the 

public at no cost. 

Section 625. Limitation on certain leasing authorities 

This section requires each agency with independent leasing authority to consult with GSA about leases that exceed the threshold 

set by GSA annually pursuant to 40 U.S.C. § 3307, which establishes a prospectus threshold for the construction, alteration, purchase, or lease of a public building. Additionally each of these agencies must acquire space at rates comparable to other properties in 

the area and submit a report to the GSA Administrator within 180 

days of enactment describing the use of independent leasing authority by the agency. 

Section 626. Expedited disposal program 

This section establishes a five year-pilot program under which 

agencies may use an expedited process to dispose of certain underutilized properties. This disposal program requires agencies to disVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:06 Nov 29, 2012 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR241.XXX SR241

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pose of underutilized properties as established in their annual 

asset management plans. All properties selected for the disposal 

program would be exempt from a range of provisions in existing 

laws, including statutory provisions requiring agencies to offer the 

selected properties for public benefit conveyance. Under this section, the OMB Director is required to select properties already designated as underutilized to participate in this expedited disposal 

program. Agencies must make property available for sale within 18 

months after receiving a determination from the OMB Director 

that the property is underutilized. Properties being disposed under 

the program must be sold at an auction that is structured and marketed to ensure the maximum amount of net proceeds. Under this 

disposal program, if an agency fails to sell a designated underutilized property within 18 months of being directed to do so by the 

OMB Director, the agency will no longer be allowed to acquire additional property unless the square footage of the increase is offset 

through consolidation, co-location with another agency, or disposal 

of another property from the inventory of that agency. 

Additionally, proceeds from the disposal of real property under 

this disposal program will be distributed as follows: eighty percent 

to the Treasury for deficit reduction; the lesser of 18 percent or the 

share of proceeds otherwise authorized to be retained under law 

will be retained by the landholding agency conducting the sale; and 

not more than two percent will be used to fund homeless assistance 

grants as authorized in the new section 627 of title 40 as added by 

the bill. Agencies will have one year to use any proceeds they receive, but only after use of those funds have been authorized in annual appropriations acts. The funds may only be used for real property asset management and disposal. 

Finally, this section requires the FRPC to submit an annual report to the OMB Director listing each Federal agency that fails to 

meet its underutilized property reduction goal as well as a list of 

the remaining underutilized properties of that agency. This report 

must be submitted within a year of enactment and annually thereafter for a period of five years. In addition, the Director is required 

to issue an annual scorecard that measures the success of each 

agency in achieving savings and determines whether the government is on track to meeting a goal of $15 billion in property savings over a ten-year period. 

Section 627. Homeless assistance grants 

This section requires the Secretary of the Department of Housing 

and Urban Development (HUD) to use funds received from the proceeds of property sales under the pilot program for grants to eligible private non-profit organizations through the continuum of care 

program established under title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. 

Sec. 202 

This section amends 40 U.S.C. § 3305 to add a new ‘‘Section— 

Consideration of Life-Cycle Costs Required.’’ This section requires 

that the full life-cycle cost of a public building is considered in the 

construction or lease of a public building. 


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V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this bill. The Committee agrees with the 

Congressional Budget Office that the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or 

tribal governments, or private entities. The enactment of this legislation will not have significant regulatory impact. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012. 

Hon. JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2178, the Federal Real 

Property Asset Management Reform Act of 2012. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

S. 2178—Federal Real Property Asset Management Reform Act of 

2012 

Summary: S. 2178 would amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (Property Act) to facilitate the disposal of 

federal real property. The legislation would expand the duties and 

responsibilities of the Federal Real Property Council (FRPC), provide new authorities to the General Services Administration (GSA), 

and establish a five-year program to expedite the disposal of underutilized federal property. 

CBO estimates that, assuming the availability of appropriated 

funds, implementing S. 2178 would cost $103 million over the 

2013–2017 period for additional administrative and reporting activities related to disposing of property. 

Enacting the bill would affect direct spending by increasing both 

receipts from property sales and spending of those receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that 

any change in net direct spending would not be significant. Enacting the legislation would not affect revenues. 

S. 2178 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of S. 2178 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget function 800 (general government). 


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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2013– 

2017 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Federal Real Property Council: 

Estimated Authorization Level ............................................. 20 21 21 21 22 105 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................... 16 20 21 21 22 100 

Other Provisions: 

Estimated Authorization Level ............................................. 1 * * * * 3 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................... 1 * * * * 3 

Total Changes: 

Estimated Authorization Level .................................... 21 21 21 21 22 108 

Estimated Outlays ...................................................... 17 20 21 21 22 103 

Note: * = less than $500,000. 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 2178 

will be enacted near the end of 2012, that the necessary funds will 

be provided for each year, and that spending will follow historical 

patterns for the affected programs. 

Federal Real Property Council 

S. 2178 would codify and expand the duties of the FRPC. Under 

the legislation, the council would be required to publish an annual 

asset management plan that includes performance measures for 

managing real property. The FRPC also would have to submit a report to the Congress that analyzes the entire federal property inventory within 180 days of enactment of the bill and annually for 

the subsequent five years. The report would include information 

collected by GSA on leased property, an analysis of the suitability 

of properties for co-locating federal agencies, an analysis of the extent of underutilized property, and a plan to dispose of assets. 

Based on information from GSA and the cost of similar councils 

and commissions, CBO estimates that implementing those provisions would cost about $20 million annually. 

Other provisions 

The legislation would require GSA to improve its database of real 

property and the Government Accountability Office to prepare a report for the Congress on the federal properties conveyed to organizations that assist homeless persons. Based on information from 

GSA and on similar GAO reports, CBO estimates that those activities would cost $3 million over the 2013–2017 period, assuming the 

availability of appropriated funds. 

Direct spending 

Under the Property Act, GSA currently manages the disposal of 

surplus federal property for most agencies. That act allows GSA to 

retain 12 percent of the proceeds from public sales to cover the direct costs of such activities as paying auction fees and conducting 

appraisals. S. 2178 would allow GSA to retain and use additional 

proceeds from the sales of underutilized property to help pay for 

the direct and indirect costs of other agencies’ disposal activities. 

Such costs would include market research, cost/benefit analyses, 

and other activities to identify and prepare properties for disposal 

that have not yet been declared excess to the government’s needs. 

Under the bill, any remaining net proceeds from federal property 


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sales would be available, subject to future appropriation, to cover 

the costs of other property management activities. 

The legislation also would establish a five-year program to expedite the disposal of underutilized federal property. Under that program, properties could be sold without some of the administrative 

reviews and determinations that must occur under current law. 

Proceeds from those sales would be available to be spent, subject 

to future appropriation. The Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget would identify the federal properties available for disposal under this expedited program, which would terminate five 

years after enactment. Under the bill, agencies would be prohibited 

from acquiring or leasing new property until they have disposed of 

all of their underutilized property. 

CBO expects that GSA and other federal agencies would use 

some of the new authorities provided in this bill to make more 

properties available for disposal than would be available under current law. The number of additional properties made available 

would be modest, however, because we expect that many of the 

largest federal agencies that manage significant numbers of properties would probably opt to continue using their enhanced-use 

leasing authorities rather than GSA’s disposal services to leverage 

value from underused real property. In addition, spending of the 

proceeds from property sales that are expected to occur under current law would increase because S. 2178 would expand the purposes for which such receipts could be used. In total, the net 

change in direct spending would be insignificant, CBO estimates. 

Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act 

establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. CBO estimates that 

enacting S. 2178 would affect net direct spending, but any such effects would be insignificant. Enacting the legislation would not affect revenues. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 2178 contains no 

intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA 

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

Previous CBO estimates: CBO has prepared cost estimates for 

four other pieces of legislation concerned with the management of 

federal real property: 

• On March 13, 2012, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

665, the Excess Federal Building and Property Disposal Act of 

2012, as provided to CBO by the House Committee on Oversight 

and Government Reform on February 28, 2012. 

• On February 24, 2012, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 

H.R. 665, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on November 17, 2011. 

• On February 1, 2012, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 

H.R. 1734, the Civilian Property Realignment Act, as transmitted 

to the Congressional Budget Office by the House Committee on the 

Budget on January 24, 2012. 

• On December 8, 2011, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 

H.R. 1734, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on October 13, 2011. 

S. 2178 and these four pieces of legislation address the disposal 

of unwanted federal property, but because the bills differ in terms 

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agement and disposal, CBO’s estimates of their budgetary impacts 

are different. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Spending: Matthew Pickford; Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Paige Piper/Bach; 

Impact on the Private Sector: Elizabeth Cove Delisle. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 2178 as 

reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

UNITED STATES CODE 

TITLE 40—PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PROPERTY, 

AND WORKS 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 5—PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 

* * * * * * * 

SUBCHAPTER VII—EXPEDITED DISPOSAL OF REAL 

PROPERTY 

SEC. 621. DEFINITIONS. 

In this subchapter: 

(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Administrator’ means the Administrator of General Services. 

(2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means the Federal Real 

Property Council established by section 623(a). 

(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means the Director of the 

Office of Management and Budget. 

(4) DISPOSAL.—The term ‘disposal’ means any action that 

constitutes the removal of any real property from the Federal inventory, including sale, deed, demolition, or exchange. 

(5) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘Federal agency’ means— 

(A) an executive department or independent establishment in the executive branch of the Government; and 

(B) a wholly owned Government corporation. 

(6) REAL PROPERTY.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘real property’ means any 

Federal real property asset. 

(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘real property’ includes— 

(i) Federal buildings (as defined in section 3301); 

and 

(ii) occupied and improved grounds, leased space, or 

other physical structures under the custody and control 

of any Federal agency. 

(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The terms ‘real property’ does not include— 


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(i) any military installation (as defined in section 

2910 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act 

of 1990 (10 U.S.C. 2687 note; Public Law 101–510)); 

(ii) any property that is excepted from the definition 

of the term ‘property’ under section 102; 

(iii) a designated wilderness study area or other 

areas managed for wilderness characteristics; 

(iv) Indian and native Eskimo property held in trust 

by the Federal Government as described in section 

3301(a)(5)(C)(iii); 

(v) property operated and maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority pursuant to the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831 et seq.); 

(vi) postal property owned by the United States Postal Service; or 

(vii) any property the Director excludes for reasons of 

national security. 

(7) FIELD OFFICE.—The term ‘field office’ means any office of 

a Federal agency that is not the headquarters office location for 

the Federal agency. 

(8) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term ‘small business 

concern’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 

Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

(9) UNDERUTILIZED PROPERTY.—The term ‘underutilized property’ means any real property that is— 

(A) excess; 

(B) surplus; 

(C) underperforming; or 

(D) otherwise not meeting the needs of the Federal Government, as determined by the Director. 

SEC. 622. DUTIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

Each Federal agency shall— 

(1) maintain adequate inventory controls and accountability 

systems for real property under the control of the agency; 

(2) define current and future workforce projections so as to 

have the capacity to assess the needs of the Federal workforce 

regarding the use of real property; 

(3) continuously survey real property under the control of the 

agency to identify underutilized property; 

(4) promptly report underutilized property to the Administrator; 

(5) establish goals that lead the agency to reduce underutilized property in the inventory of the agency not later than December 31, 2016; 

(6) reassign underutilized property to another activity within 

the agency if the property is no longer required for purposes of 

the appropriation used to make the purchase; 

(7) transfer underutilized property under the control of the 

agency to other Federal agencies and to organizations specified 

in section 321(c)(2); 

(8) obtain underutilized properties from other Federal agencies to meet mission needs before acquiring non-Federal property; and 


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(9) adopt workplace practices, configurations, and management techniques that can achieve increased levels of productivity and decrease the need for real property assets. 

SEC. 623. ESTABLISHMENT OF A FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY COUNCIL. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Federal Real Property Council. 

(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Council shall be to develop 

guidance for the asset management program of each Federal agency. 

(c) COMPOSITION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be composed exclusively 

of— 

(A) the senior real property officers of each executive 

agency; 

(B) the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of 

Management and Budget; 

(C) the Controller of the Office of Management and Budget; 

(D) the Administrator; and 

(E) any other full-time or permanent part-time Federal 

officials or employees, as the Chairperson determines to be 

necessary. 

(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Deputy Director for Management of 

the Office of Management and Budget shall serve as Chairperson of the Council. 

(3) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Office of Management 

and Budget shall provide funding and administrative support 

for the Council, as appropriate. 

(d) DUTIES.—The Council, in consultation with the Director and 

the Administrator, shall— 

(1) establish an asset management plan, to be updated annually, which shall include performance measures to determine 

the effectiveness of real property management that are designed— 

(A) to enable Congress and heads of Federal agencies to 

track progress in the achievement of property management 

objectives on a government-wide basis; and 

(B) allow for comparison of the performance of Federal 

agencies against industry and other public sector agencies 

in terms of performance; 

(2) develop standard use rates consistent throughout each category of space and with nongovernmental space use rates; 

(3) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

subchapter, and annually for a 5-year period thereafter, submit 

to the Committees on Environment and Public Works and 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 

and the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and 

Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives a report that contains— 

(A) an analysis of the existing inventory of real property 

and the condition of that property, including data relating 

to— 

(i) the age and condition of the property; 

(ii) the size of the property in square footage and 

acreage; 


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(iii) the geographical location of the property, including an address and description; 

(iv) operating costs associated with the property; 

(v) the history of capital expenditures associated with 

the property; 

(vi) sustainability metrics associated with the property; 

(vii) the number of Federal employees and functions 

housed in the property; and 

(viii) the relevance of each property to the mission of 

the Federal agency; 

(B) a list of real property assets that are field offices that 

are suitable for co-location into another real property asset; 

(C) an evaluation of the leasing process in effect as of the 

date of submission of the report to identify and document 

inefficiencies in that process; 

(D) a suggested strategy to reduce the reliance of Federal 

agencies on leased space for long-term needs if ownership 

would be less costly; and 

(E) an assessment of Federally leased space, including— 

(i) a description of the overall quantity and type of 

space leased by Federal agencies; and 

(ii) an identification of current contracts for leased 

office space in which the leased space is not fully used 

or occupied (including a plan for subletting of unoccupied space if appropriate); 

(F) an analysis of all underutilized property under the jurisdiction of each Federal agency that can be removed from 

the Federal inventory and sold for proceeds, transferred, or 

otherwise disposed of, so as to reduce the civilian real property inventory and associated operating costs of the Federal 

Government; 

(G) an asset disposal plan, or an update of an asset disposal plan, that includes an annual goal established under 

section 622(5) to be used by Federal agencies in reducing, 

by not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this 

subchapter, underutilized property in the inventory of the 

Federal Government; 

(H) the number of real property disposals completed, including the disposal method used for each individual real 

property; and 

(I) specific milestones, measurable savings, and evaluation criteria for the disposal of real property under this 

subchapter; 

(4) in accordance with subsection (e), identify and compile a 

list of real property assets that are field offices that are suitable 

for co-location into other real property assets; and 

(5)(A) review contracts for leased office space that are in effect 

as of the date of submission of the report; and 

(B) work with Federal agencies to renegotiate leases having at least 2 years remaining in the term of the leases to 

recognize potential cost savings as quickly as practicable. 

(e) CO-LOCATION AMONG POSTAL SERVICE PROPERTIES.— 


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(1) DEFINITION OF POSTAL PROPERTY.—In this subsection, the 

term ‘Postal property’ means any building owned by the United 

States Postal Service. 

(2) IDENTIFICATION OF REAL PROPERTY ASSETS.—Each year, 

the Council shall— 

(A) identify and compile a list of field offices that are 

suitable for co-location with another real property asset; 

and 

(B) submit the list to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Postmaster General. 

(3) POSTAL PROPERTY.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the completion of the list under paragraph (2), the Director of the 

Office of Management and Budget, in collaboration with 

the Postmaster General, shall identify field offices on the 

list that are within reasonable distance of a Postal property. 

(B) REASONABLE DISTANCE.—For purposes of this paragraph, a field office shall be considered within reasonable 

distance of a Postal property if the office would be able to 

fulfill the mission of the office if the office is located at the 

Postal property. 

(C) REVIEW BY POSTAL SERVICE.—Not later than 90 days 

after the receipt of the list submitted under paragraph 

(3)(B), the Postmaster General shall— 

(i) review the list; and 

(ii) submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a report containing the conclusions of 

the review. 

(4) TERMS OF CO-LOCATION.—On approval of the recommendations under paragraph (4) by the Postmaster General 

and the applicable agency head, the co-location of a Postal 

property and an field office shall consist of the Executive agency 

that owns or leases the field office entering into a lease for space 

within the Postal property with United States Postal Service 

that has— 

(A) an initial lease term of not less than 5 years; 

(B) a cost that is within 5 percent of the prevailing market lease rate for a similarly situated space identified under 

this subsection.’’. 

TITLE II—PROPERTY MANAGEMENT POLICY 

SEC. 201. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT POLICY. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, United States 

Code (as amended by title I) is amended by adding at the end the 

following: 

SEC. 624. DATABASE. 

The Administrator shall— 

(1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

subchapter, establish and maintain a single, comprehensive, 

and descriptive database of all real property under the custody 

and control of all Federal branch agencies, except when otherwise required for reasons of national security; 


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(2) collect from each Federal agency such descriptive information (except for classified information) as the Administrator determines will best describe the nature, use, and extent of real 

property holdings for the Federal Government; and 

(3) to the extent consistent with national security, make the 

database established under paragraph (1) accessible to the public at no cost through the website of the General Services Administration. 

SEC. 625. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN LEASING AUTHORITIES. 

Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, a Federal 

agency with independent leasing authority shall— 

(1) consult with the Administrator for all leases requiring a 

prospectus under section 3307; 

(2) acquire space at rates consistent with prevailing market 

rates for comparable facilities within the specified geographical 

area; and 

(3) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

subchapter and annually thereafter, submit to the Administrator a report that describes the use of the independent leasing 

authority during the period covered by the report. 

SEC. 626. EXPEDITED DISPOSAL PROGRAM. 

(a) IN GENERAL.— 

(1) REQUIRED DISPOSAL.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—On an annual basis, the Director shall 

require Federal agencies to dispose of, by sale, transfer, or 

other means of disposal, any real property determined by 

the Director to be underutilized property. 

(B) COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DISPOSAL.— 

(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may obligate an 

amount to pay any direct and indirect costs under section 572 related to identifying and preparing properties 

to be reported as excess by a Federal agency. 

(ii) REIMBURSEMENT.—An amount obligated under 

clause (i) shall be paid from the proceeds of any sale 

of underutilized property. 

(iii) NET PROCEEDS.—Net proceeds shall be distributed under subsection (b). 

(C) MAXIMUM NET PROCEEDS.—Underutilized property required to be disposed of by sale of under subparagraph (A) 

shall be sold at an auction that, as determined by the Administrator in consultation with the head of the applicable 

Federal agency, is structured and marketed to ensure the 

maximum amount of net proceeds. 

(D) MONETARY PROCEEDS REQUIREMENT.— 

(i) IN GENERAL.—Underutilized property may be sold 

under this section only if disposal of the property will 

generate monetary proceeds to the Federal Government 

that exceed the costs of disposal of the property. 

(ii) PROHIBITIONS ON NONCASH TRANSACTIONS.—A 

disposal of underutilized property under this section 

may not include any exchange, trade, transfer, acquisition of the like-kind property, or other noncash transaction as part of the disposal. 


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(2) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAW.—Any expedited disposal 

of underutilized property conducted under this section shall not 

be subject to— 

(A) any section of An Act Authorizing the Transfer of Certain Real Property for Wildlife, or other Purposes (16 

U.S.C. 667b); 

(B) sections 107 and 317 of title 23; 

(C) sections 545(b)(8), 550, 553, 554, and 1304(b) of this 

title; 

(D) section 501 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11411); 

(E) section 47151 of title 49; 

(F) section 13(d) of the Surplus Property Act of 1944 (50 

U.S.C. App. 1622(d)); 

(G) any other provision of law authorizing the conveyance 

of real property owned by the Federal Government for no 

consideration; or 

(H) any congressional notification requirement other than 

that in section 545 of this title. 

(b) USE OF PROCEEDS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the proceeds received from the disposal 

of any real property under this subchapter— 

(A) not less than 80 percent shall be returned to the general fund of the Treasury for debt reduction; 

(B) the lesser of 18 percent or the share of proceeds otherwise authorized to be retained under law shall be retained 

by Federal agencies, subject to paragraph (2); 

(C) not more than 2 percent shall be made available to 

carry out section 627, subject to annual appropriations; 

and 

(D) any remaining share of the proceeds shall be returned 

to the general fund of the Treasury for Federal budget deficit reduction. 

(2) LIMITATION ON USE OF PROCEEDS.—Any proceeds retained 

by Federal agencies under this section shall be— 

(A) deposited into the appropriate real property account 

of the agency that had custody and accountability for the 

underutilized property, with the funds expended only as authorized in annual appropriations Acts; 

(B) used— 

(i) by not later than 1 year after the date of disposal 

of the real property; and 

(ii) only for activities relating to Federal real property asset management and disposal; and 

(C) if not used by the date described in subparagraph 

(A)(i), shall be deposited in the Treasury and used for Federal budget deficit reduction. 

(c) PUBLIC BENEFIT.— 

(1) CONVEYANCE.—If an underutilized property has not been 

disposed of by the date that is 2 years after the date the property is listed for sale, the Director, in consultation with the Administrator and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, may consider a request from the disposing agency that 

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ernments or nonprofit organizations for various public purposes 

or uses as permitted by applicable law. 

(2) PREDOMINANT USE AND SIZE STANDARDS.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Underutilized property the predominant use of which is other than housing, and the area of 

which is equal to or greater than 25,000 square feet or the 

appraised fair market value of which exceeds $2,000,000, 

shall be considered to be unsuitable for disposal under this 

subsection. 

(B) APPRAISED FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The appraised fair 

market value described in subparagraph (A) shall be determined by the Federal agency with custody or control of the 

property, in consultation with the Administrator and 

standard appraisal practice. 

(d) ENFORCEMENT.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.— 

(A) INCREASE IN SIZE OF INVENTORY.—Except as provided 

in subparagraph (B) and paragraph (2) and, if a Federal 

agency fails to make available for public sale the underutilized properties described in subsection (a) by the date that 

is 18 months after the date of a determination by the Director under subsection (a), that Federal agency, except for 

specific exceptions promulgated by the Director, shall not 

increase the size of the civilian real property inventory, unless the square footage of the increase is offset, within an 

appropriate time as determined by the Director, through 

consolidation, colocation, or disposal of another building 

space from the inventory of that agency. 

(B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a 

Federal agency that acquires any real property not under 

the administrative jurisdiction of the Federal Government, 

by sale or lease, until the Director submits a certification 

to Congress of the disposal of all of those surplus real properties. 

(2) WAIVER.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a Federal 

agency if— 

(A) the Federal agency submits to the Director and the 

Committees on Environment and Public Works and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 

the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and 

Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives a written justification describing— 

(i) the reasons why the surplus real properties described in subsection (a) under the jurisdiction of the 

Federal agency were not disposed of; or 

(ii) why the restriction on growth without an identified offset obstructs the performance of a mission-critical function; and 

(B) Congress enacts a law approving the waiver. 

(3) OMB Scorecard.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall prepare an annual 

scorecard measuring the success of each Federal agency in 

achieving savings under this subchapter. 

(B) GOVERNMENT-WIDE SAVINGS.—The Director shall use 

the scorecard described in subparagraph (A) to determine 


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whether the sum of the savings of each agency is at least 

$15,000,000,000 over a 10-year period. 

(4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subchapter and once for every 5-year period thereafter, the Council shall submit to the Director a report listing 

each Federal agency that fails to meet the applicable underutilized property reduction goal established under section 622(5), 

along with a list of the remaining underutilized properties of 

the Federal agency. 

(e) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority provided by this 

section terminates on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this subchapter. 

SEC. 627. HOMELESS ASSISTANCE GRANTS. 

‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘eligible 

nonprofit organization’ means a nonprofit organization that is 

a representative of the homeless. 

(2) HOMELESS.—The term ‘homeless’ has the meaning given 

the term in section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302), except that subsection (c) of that 

section shall not apply. 

(3) PERMANENT HOUSING.—The term ‘permanent housing’ has 

the meaning given the term section 401 of the McKinney-Vento 

Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360). 

(4) PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘private 

nonprofit organization’ has the meaning given the term in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

U.S.C. 11360). 

(5) REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HOMELESS.—The term ‘representative of the homeless’ has the meaning given the term in section 

501(i) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

U.S.C. 11411(i)). 

(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of 

Housing and Urban Development. 

(7) TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.—The term ‘transitional housing’ 

has the meaning given the term in section 401 of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360). 

(b) GRANT AUTHORITY.— (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent amounts are made available 

under section 626 for use under this section, the Secretary shall 

make grants to eligible private nonprofit organizations through 

the continuum of care program established under subtitle C of 

title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

U.S.C. 11381 et seq.), to purchase property suitable for use to 

assist the homeless in accordance with subsection (c). 

‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Except as otherwise provided 

in this section, a grant under this section shall be subject to the 

same terms and conditions as a grant under the continuum of 

care program established under subtitle C of title IV of the 

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et 

seq.). 

(c) USE OF PROPERTIES FOR HOUSING OR SHELTER FOR THE

HOMELESS.— 

(1) ELIGIBLE USES.—An eligible private nonprofit organization that receives a grant under subsection (b) shall use the 


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amounts received only to purchase or rehabilitate real property 

for use to provide permanent housing, transitional housing, or 

temporary shelter to the homeless. 

(2) TERM OF USE.—The Secretary may not make a grant 

under subsection (b) to an eligible private nonprofit organization unless the eligible private nonprofit organization provides 

to the Secretary such assurances as the Secretary determines 

necessary to ensure that any property purchased or rehabilitated using amounts received under the grant is used only for 

the uses described in paragraph (1) for a period of not less than 

15 years. 

(d) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under subsection (b), the 

Secretary shall give preference to eligible private nonprofit organizations that operate within areas in which Federal real property is 

being sold under the disposal program authorized under section 

626. 

(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

(b) REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not later than 5 

years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the 

use by executive agencies of the authorities provided by this Act and 

amendments made by this Act. 

SEC. 202. CONSIDERATION OF LIFE-CYCLE COST REQUIRED. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3305 of title 40, United States Code, is 

amended by adding at the end the following: 

(d) CONSIDERATION OF LIFE-CYCLE COST REQUIRED.— 

(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

(A) LIFE-CYCLE COST.—The term ‘life-cycle cost’ means 

the sum of the following costs, as estimated for the lifetime 

of a building: 

(i) Investment costs. 

(ii) Capital costs. 

(iii) Installation costs. 

(iv) Energy costs. 

(v) Operating costs. 

(vi) Maintenance costs. 

(vii) Replacement costs. 

(B) LIFETIME OF A BUILDING.—The term ‘lifetime of a real 

property asset’ means, with respect to an asset, the greater 

of— 

(i) the period of time during which the asset is projected to be used; or 

(ii) 50 years. 

(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Council shall ensure that the lifecycle cost of a real property asset is considered in the construction or lease of a real property asset described in paragraph (3). 

(3) FEDERAL PUBLIC BUILDINGS SUBJECT TO REQUIREMENT.— 

A real property asset shall be subject to the requirement under 

paragraph (2) if— 

(A) construction or lease of the asset begins after the date 

on which the Council is established; 

(B) the estimated construction costs of the asset exceed 

$1,000,000; 


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(C) in the case of a lease, the square footage of the asset 

is more than 25,000 square feet; and 

‘‘(D) Federal funding comprises more than 50 percent of 

the funding for the estimated construction or lease costs of 

the asset.’’. 

(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, United States Code, is 

amended by inserting after the item relating to section 611 the following: 


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1 Congressional Budget Office, Cost Estimate: S 2178, Federal Real Property Management Reform Act of 2012 (Sept. 2012), p. 5. 2 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Progress Made in Reducing 

Unneeded Property, but VA Needs Better Information to Make Further Reductions (Sept. 2008) 

(GAO–08–939), p. 33. 3 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Progress Made in Reducing 

Unneeded Property, but VA Needs Better Information to Make Further Reductions (Sept. 2008) 

(GAO–08–939), p. 36. 4S 2178 as Reported (SIL12754) p. 40. 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

The Committee reported bill requires federal agencies to dispose 

of property determined by the Director of OMB to be underutilized. 

The bill further requires the Director to report on which agencies 

do not achieve at least $15 billion in real estate cost-savings over 

a 10-year period, yet the cost estimate from the Congressional 

Budget Office (CBO) finds that this bill would increase spending by 

$103 million in the 2013–2017 time period. There is little evidence 

that the bill will achieve the requirements it would place on federal 

agencies, as is likely since the CBO analysis concluded that any increase in the number of properties disposed under the expedited 

process established under the bill would be modest.1

Also, the committee report cites a Government Accountability Office report indicating that McKinney-Vento screening at the Veterans Administration (VA) may add 2 years to the disposal process. 

But this same GAO report outlines a process of 7 months to determine whether a property is suitable for use in fighting homelessness. It’s unclear why a seven-month process should result in twoyear delays, but it seems unlikely that the McKinney-Vento process 

is the culprit. The report also cites additional problems faced by the 

VA that this bill does not address such as the need to conduct environmental cleanups and compliance with the National Historic 

Preservation Act.2 Considering that McKinney-Vento screening can 

occur at the same time as environmental assessment and historic 

preservation review, it does not appear that the screening should 

be a major impediment to disposal of surplus property. 

The GAO report also found that key stakeholders, including veterans groups, community members, state and local governments, 

historic preservation organizations, advocacy groups, and the public 

in general may have conflicting priorities for reuse of VA property.3

The committee reported bill does not offer remedies to help resolve 

these conflicting priorities, instead emphasizing maximum net proceeds to the federal government.4 But we have at our disposal models for better ways to address local concerns, even when they are 

conflicting, with the federal government’s need to protect the taxpayer. According to a June 2006 GAO report on public benefit conveyances, properties disposed under the Base Realignment and Closure process used by the Department of Defense often involve the 


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5 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Most Public Benefit Conveyances Used as Intended, but Opportunities Exist to Enhance Federal Oversight (June 2006) 

(GAO–06–511), p. 10. 

use of a local redevelopment authority (LRA).5 According to this report, the LRA acts as a single point of contact between the government and stakeholders in the community and takes into consideration community needs, possible reuse, environmental condition 

and consideration of homeless needs. 

So, while I support the goal of disposing excess and surplus property, this bill will not accomplish that goal, and is likely to fall far 

short of its cost-cutting requirements. While failing at that goal, it 

sets an unwise precedent of waiving all existing public benefit conveyance laws for select properties to be conveyed under an expedited disposal program which would ignore the needs of local communities and stakeholders. We should focus our efforts on streamlining the federal real property disposal process in a way that considers the needs of local communities and stakeholders and that 

achieves real savings for the taxpayer. 

CARL LEVIN. 

Æ 


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