I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2322 

To reduce costs of Federal real estate, improve building security, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2015 

Mr. BARLETTA (for himself, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. SHUSTER, and Mr. 

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

A BILL 

To reduce costs of Federal real estate, improve building 

security, and for other purposes. 

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 Buildings Re5 form and Savings Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STREAMLINED LEASING PILOT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) EXECUTION OF LEASES.—The Administrator of 

8 General Services shall establish and conduct a pilot pro9 gram to execute lease agreements pursuant to authority 


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1 provided under section 585 of title 40, United States 

2 Code, using alternative procedures. 

3 (b) ADOPTION.—The Administrator shall prescribe 

4 alternative procedures to enter into lease agreements in 

5 accordance with section 585 of title 40, United States 

6 Code, pursuant to the provisions of this section. 

7 (c) GOALS OF PROCEDURES.—The goals of the alter8 native procedures are— 

9 (1) reducing the costs to the Federal Govern10 ment of leased space, including— 

11 (A) executing long-term leases with firm 

12 terms of 10 years or more and reducing costly 

13 holdover and short-term lease extensions, in14 cluding short firm term leases; 

15 (B) improving office space utilization rates 

16 of Federal tenants; and 

17 (C) streamlining and simplifying the leas18 ing process to take advantage of real estate 

19 markets; and 

20 (2) significantly reducing or eliminating the 

21 backlog of expiring leases over the next 5 years. 

22 (d) LEASEHOLD INTERESTS IN REAL PROPERTY.— 

23 (1) SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES.—Notwith24 standing section 3305(b) of title 41, United States 

25 Code, but otherwise in accordance with such section, 


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1 the Administrator of General Services shall provide 

2 special simplified procedures for acquisitions of 

3 leasehold interests in real property at rental rates 

4 that do not exceed the simplified lease acquisition 

5 threshold, as defined in paragraph (2). The rental 

6 rate under a multiyear lease does not exceed the 

7 simplified lease acquisition threshold if the average 

8 annual amount of the rent payable for the period of 

9 the lease does not exceed the simplified lease acquisi10 tion threshold. 

11 (2) ACQUISITION THRESHOLD.—For purposes 

12 of this section, the simplified lease acquisition 

13 threshold is $500,000. 

14 (e) CONSOLIDATED LEASE PROSPECTUSES.—The 

15 Administrator may, when acquiring leasehold interests 

16 subject to section 3307 of title 40, United States Code, 

17 transmit, pursuant to subsection (b) of such section, to 

18 the committees designated in such section for approval a 

19 prospectus to acquire leased space, and waive the require20 ments pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (6) of section 

21 3307(b), subject to the following requirements: 

22 (1) COST PER SQUARE FOOTAGE.—The cost per 

23 square footage does not exceed the maximum pro24 posed rental rate designated for the respective geo25 graphical area. 


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1 (2) SPACE UTILIZATION.—The Administrator 

2 ensures the overall space utilization rate is 170 usa3 ble square feet per person or better based on actual 

4 agency staffing levels when occupied. 

5 (3) LEASE TERM.—The lease term, including 

6 the firm term, is not less than 10 years. 

7 (4) GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.—The geographical 

8 location is identified as having a large amount of 

9 square footage of Federal office space and lease 

10 turnover and will likely result in providing for the 

11 ability, on a timely basis, of the agency to consoli12 date space effectively or meet any requirements for 

13 temporary or interim space required for planned 

14 consolidations. 

15 (f) CONSOLIDATIONS GENERALLY.—The Adminis16 trator may consolidate more than 1 project into a single 

17 prospectus submitted pursuant to section 3307(b), title 

18 40, United States Code, if such consolidation will facilitate 

19 efficiencies and reductions in overall space and improved 

20 utilization rates. 

21 (g) EXPEDITING CONSOLIDATIONS AND SPACE RE22 DUCTIONS.—In order to facilitate and expedite agency 

23 consolidations and relocations, the Administrator may, to 

24 the extent practicable, include as part of any leasehold 

25 agreement for office space accommodations that cover 


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1 costs associated with agency relocation and buildout, in2 cluding move costs and costs related to furniture, fixtures, 

3 and equipment. 

4 (h) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Administrator may— 

5 (1) waive notice and comment rulemaking, if 

6 the Administrator determines the waiver is necessary 

7 to implement this section expeditiously; and 

8 (2) carry out the alternative procedures under 

9 this section as a pilot program. 

10 (i) REPORTS.— 

11 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—During the period in 

12 which the pilot program is conducted under this sec13 tion, the Administrator shall submit, annually, to 

14 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

15 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a 

17 progress report that provides updates on the number 

18 and square footage of leases expiring in the 5-year 

19 period beginning on the date of enactment of this 

20 Act, by agency and region, and which shall include 

21 for the expiring leases— 

22 (A) an average of the lease terms, includ23 ing firm terms, for leases executed; and 


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1 (B) the percentage of leases managed in2 house or through the use of commercial real es3 tate leasing services. 

4 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

5 after termination of the pilot program, the Adminis6 trator shall submit a final report to the Committee 

7 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

8 of Representatives and the Committee on Environ9 ment and Public Works of the Senate. The final re10 port shall include— 

11 (A) a review and evaluation of the lease 

12 agreements executed under the alternative pro13 cedures established pursuant to this section in 

14 comparison to those agreements not executed 

15 pursuant to the alternative procedures; 

16 (B) recommendations on any permanent 

17 changes to the General Services Administra18 tion’s leasing authority; and 

19 (C) a progress evaluation in meeting the 

20 goals described in subsection (c). 

21 (j) TERMINATION.—The authorities under this sec22 tion shall terminate on December 31, 2020. 

23 SEC. 3. EXCHANGE AUTHORITY. 

24 (a) LIMITATION ON EXCHANGE AUTHORITY.—Sec25 tion 3307(a) of title 40, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(including 

2 by exchange)’’ after ‘‘acquire’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(4) An appropriation for any costs and ex5 penses associated with administering an acquisition 

6 by exchange involving real property or in-kind con7 sideration, including services, with a fair market 

8 value of $2,850,000 or more.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall not apply to projects in which a procure11 ment has already begun. 

12 SEC. 4. FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE. 

13 (a) Section 1315 of title 40, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(h) CONTRACT SECURITY PERSONNEL.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITIES FOR CONTRACT SECURITY

18 PERSONNEL.— 

19 ‘‘(A) CARRYING OF FIREARMS.—The Sec20 retary may authorize contract security per21 sonnel engaged in the protection of buildings 

22 and grounds that are owned, occupied, or se23 cured by the General Services Administration 

24 Public Buildings Service to carry firearms to 

25 carry out their official duties. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DETENTION WITHOUT A WARRANT.— 

2 A person authorized to carry a firearm under 

3 this subsection may, while in the performance 

4 of, and in connection with, official duties, de5 tain an individual without a warrant for any of6 fense against the United States committed in 

7 that person’s presence or for any felony cog8 nizable under the laws of the United States if 

9 that person has reasonable grounds to believe 

10 that the individual to be detained has com11 mitted or is committing such felony. The deten12 tion authority conferred by this paragraph is in 

13 addition to any detention authority provided 

14 under other laws. 

15 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—The following limitations 

16 apply: 

17 ‘‘(A) DETENTION.—Contract security per18 sonnel authorized to carry firearms under this 

19 section may detain an individual only if the in20 dividual to be detained is within, or in direct 

21 flight from, the area of such offense. 

22 ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN LAWS.— 

23 A person granted authority to detain under this 

24 section may exercise such authority only to en25 force laws regarding any building and grounds 


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1 and all property located in or on that building 

2 and grounds that are owned, occupied, or se3 cured by the General Services Administration 

4 Public Buildings Service. 

5 ‘‘(3) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary, with the ap6 proval of the Attorney General, shall issue guidelines 

7 to implement this section.’’. 

8 (b) Section 1315(b) of title 40, United States Code, 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of subpara11 graph (E) and inserting a period; and 

12 (2) by striking subparagraph (F). 

13 (c) Section 1315(b) of title 40, United States Code, 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following new para15 graphs: 

16 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM TRAINING STANDARDS.—The 

17 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the 

18 Federal Protective Service and in accordance with 

19 guidelines issued by the Attorney General, shall es20 tablish minimum and uniform training standards for 

21 any employee designated as an officer or agent to 

22 carry out and exercise authority pursuant to this 

23 section. Such minimum standards shall include on24 going training certified by the Director of the Fed25 eral Protective Service. 


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1 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION OF DESIGNATIONS AND

2 DELEGATIONS.—The Secretary shall submit written 

3 notification of any approved designations or delega4 tions of any authority provided under this section, 

5 including the purposes and scope of such designa6 tions or delegations, not within the Federal Protec7 tive Service, to the Committee on Transportation 

8 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

9 and the Committee on Environment and Public 

10 Works of the Senate, including the purpose for such 

11 designations or delegations, oversight protocols es12 tablished to ensure compliance with any require13 ments, including compliance with training require14 ments, and other specifics regarding such designa15 tions and delegations.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. EVALUATION OF FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE 

17 PERSONNEL NEEDS. 

18 (a) PERSONNEL AND FUNDING NEEDS OF FEDERAL

19 PROTECTIVE SERVICE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act and after re22 view by a qualified consultant pursuant to paragraph 

23 (2), the Secretary shall submit a report to the ap24 propriate congressional committees on the personnel 

25 needs of the Federal Protective Service that includes 


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1 recommendations on the numbers of Federal Protec2 tive Service law enforcement officers and the work3 force composition of the Federal Protective Service 

4 needed to carry out the mission of such Service dur5 ing the 10-fiscal-year period beginning after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act. 

7 (2) REVIEW AND COMMENT.—The Secretary 

8 shall provide the report prepared under this section 

9 to a qualified consultant for review and comment be10 fore submitting the report to the appropriate con11 gressional committees. The Secretary shall provide 

12 the comments of the qualified consultant to the ap13 propriate congressional committee with the report. 

14 (3) CONTENTS.—The report under this section 

15 shall include an evaluation of— 

16 (A) the option of posting a full-time equiv17 alent Federal Protective Service law enforce18 ment officer at each level 3 or 4 Federal facil19 ity, as determined by the Interagency Security 

20 Committee, that on the date of enactment of 

21 this Act has a protective security officer sta22 tioned at the facility; 

23 (B) the potential increase in security of 

24 any option evaluated under subparagraph (A); 


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1 (C) the immediate and projected costs of 

2 any option evaluated under such subparagraph; 

3 and 

4 (D) the immediate and projected costs of 

5 maintaining the current level of protective secu6 rity officers and full-time Federal Protective 

7 Service law enforcement officers. 

8 (b) REPORT ON FUNDING.—Not later than 180 days 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

10 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re11 port on the best method of funding for the Federal Protec12 tive Service, which shall include recommendations regard13 ing whether the Federal Protective Service should— 

14 (1) continue to be funded by a collection of fees 

15 and security charges; 

16 (2) be funded by appropriations; or 

17 (3) be funded by a combination of fees, security 

18 charges, and appropriations. 

19 SEC. 6. ZERO-BASED SPACE JUSTIFICATION. 

20 Section 3307(b) of title 40, United States Code, is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (5), by inserting before the 

23 semicolon the following: ‘‘including a cost compari24 son between leasing space or constructing space’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (3) in paragraph (7) by striking the period and 

4 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(8) with respect to any prospectus, including 

7 for replacement space, lease renewal, or lease exten8 sion, the Administrator shall include a justification 

9 for such space, including an explanation of why such 

10 space could not be consolidated or colocated into 

11 other owned or leased space.’’. 

12 SEC. 7. ELIMINATING PROJECT ESCALATIONS. 

13 Section 3307(c) of title 40, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The Admin15 istrator shall notify, in writing, the Committee on Trans16 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa17 tives and the Committee on Environment and Public 

18 Works of the Senate of any increase of more than 5 per19 cent of an estimated maximum cost or of any increase or 

20 decrease in the scope or size of a project of 5 or more 

21 percent. Such notification shall include an explanation re22 garding any such increase or decrease. The scope or size 

23 of a project shall not increase or decrease by more than 

24 10 percent unless an amended prospectus is submitted and 

25 approved pursuant to this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON AUTHORIZATIONS. 

2 Section 3307 of title 40, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) EXPIRATION OF COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS.— 

5 Unless a lease is executed or a construction, alteration, 

6 repair, design, or acquisition project is initiated not later 

7 than 5 years after the resolution approvals adopted by the 

8 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

9 House of Representatives or the Committee on Environ10 ment and Public Works of the Senate pursuant to sub11 section (a), such resolutions shall be deemed expired. This 

12 subsection shall only apply to resolutions approved after 

13 the date of enactment of this subsection.’’. 

14 SEC. 9. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HEADQUARTERS RE15 PLACEMENT. 

16 (a) SALE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

19 of the General Services Administration is directed to 

20 sell, exchange, or some combination thereof, a por21 tion of the Forrestal Complex necessary to generate 

22 the funds necessary to construct a new Department 

23 of Energy headquarters on Government-owned land 

24 in a manner consistent with the SW Ecodistrict 

25 Plan. 


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1 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, the following definitions apply: 

3 (A) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FORRESTAL

4 COMPLEX.—The term ‘‘Forrestal Complex’’ 

5 means the land, including the buildings and 

6 other improvements thereon, that— 

7 (i) subject to survey and as deter8 mined by the Administrator, is— 

9 (I) located in the District of Co10 lumbia; 

11 (II) generally bounded by Inde12 pendence Avenue, Southwest, 12th 

13 Street, Southwest, Maryland Avenue, 

14 Southwest, and 9th Street, Southwest; 

15 and 

16 (III) generally consisting of 

17 Squares 351–N, 351, 383, 384, and 

18 385 and portions of Squares 325 and 

19 352; and 

20 (ii) is under the jurisdiction and con21 trol of the General Services Administra22 tion. 

23 (B) SW ECODISTRICT PLAN.—The term 

24 ‘‘SW Ecodistrict Plan’’ means the plan of the 

25 National Capital Planning Commission titled 


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1 ‘‘The SW Ecodistrict: A Vision Plan For A 

2 More Sustainable Future’’ and dated January 

3 2013. 

4 (b) REPLACEMENT OF HEADQUARTERS.—Not later 

5 than 2 years after the disposal of the necessary portions 

6 of the Forrestal Complex, the Administrator shall replace 

7 the Department of Energy headquarters located on the 

8 Forrestal Complex in a Government-owned building on 

9 Government-owned land. 

10 (c) CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS.—The Administrator 

11 shall not lease a new Department of Energy headquarters 

12 or engage in a leaseback of the current headquarters. 

13 (d) NET PROCEEDS.—Any net proceeds received, ex14 ceeding the expenses of implementing subsection (b), shall 

15 be paid into an account in the Federal Buildings Fund 

16 established under section 592 of title 40, United States 

17 Code. Upon deposit, the net proceeds from the sale may 

18 only be expended subject to a specific future appropria19 tion. 

20 SEC. 10. ACQUISITION CLASSIFICATIONS. 

21 For the purposes of classifying the type of acquisition 

22 pursuant to section 585 of title 40, United States Code, 

23 when options to purchase, discounted or otherwise, are 

24 proposed for or incorporated in acquisition agreements of 

25 real property pursuant to such section, no presumption 


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1 may be made regarding whether such option will be exer2 cised absent an explicit requirement to exercise such op3 tion in respective contractual agreement. Such options 

4 shall have no effect on the classification of such acquisi5 tions pursuant to such section. 

6 SEC. 11. ENERGY SAVINGS. 

7 To the extent practicable and when cost effective, the 

8 Administrator of the General Services Administration 

9 shall consider the direct purchase of energy and other util10 ities in bulk or otherwise for leased facilities. 

11 SEC. 12. SIMPLIFIED REFORMS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of section 863 

13 of Public Law 110–417, an individual acquisition for com14 mercial leasing services shall not be construed as a pur15 chase of property or services if such individual acquisition 

16 is made on a no cost basis and pursuant to a multiple 

17 award contract awarded in accordance with requirements 

18 for full and open competition. 

19 (b) AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of the United 

20 States shall— 

21 (1) conduct biennial audits of the General Serv22 ices Administration National Broker Contract to de23 termine— 

24 (A) whether brokers selected under the 

25 program provide lower lease rental rates than 


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1 rates negotiated by General Services Adminis2 tration staff; and 

3 (B) the impact of the program on the 

4 length of time of lease procurements; 

5 (2) conduct a review of whether the application 

6 of section 863 of Public Law 110–417 to acquisi7 tions for commercial leasing services resulted in 

8 rental cost savings for the Government during the 

9 years in which such section was applicable prior to 

10 the date of enactment of this section; and 

11 (3) not later than September 30, 2017, and 

12 September 30, 2019, submit to the Committee on 

13 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

14 Representatives and the Committee on Environment 

15 and Public Works of the Senate a report that— 

16 (A) summarizes the results of the audit 

17 and review required by paragraphs (1) and (2); 

18 (B) includes an assessment of whether the 

19 National Broker Contract provides greater effi20 ciencies and savings than the use of General 

21 Services Administration staff; and 

22 (C) includes recommendations for improv23 ing General Services Administration lease pro24 curements. 


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1 (c) TERMINATION.—This section shall terminate on 

2 December 31, 2020. 

Æ 


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