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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5787 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 5787

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2008

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
  To amend title 40, United States Code, to enhance authorities with 
  regard to real property that has yet to be reported excess, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Real Property Disposal 
Enhancement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In January 2003, the Government Accountability Office 
        identified Federal real property as a high-risk area, citing 
        excess property as a long-standing problem.
            (2) The magnitude of the problem with excess Federal real 
        property continues to put the government at risk for lost 
        dollars and missed opportunities.
            (3) The Administration has stated its goal is to reduce the 
        size of the Federal real property inventory by 5 percent, or 
        $15 billion, by disposing of unneeded assets by 2015.
            (4) The Federal inventory includes many properties that are 
        no longer relevant to agencies' missions and agencies are 
        spending billions of dollars to maintain these unneeded 
        properties.
            (5) The costs of preparing a property for transfer or sale 
        continue to hamper some agencies' efforts to address their 
        unneeded properties and serve as a disincentive to disposal 
        because, in the short-term, it can be more beneficial 
        economically to maintain a property that is not being used than 
        to dispose of it.
            (6) Agencies should give greater attention to right-sizing 
        their real property portfolios.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to reduce the Federal 
inventory of unneeded and costly property.

SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION AND EXECUTIVE 
              AGENCIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 524 of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 524. Duties of the General Services Administration and executive 
              agencies
    ``(a) Duties of the General Services Administration.--
            ``(1) Guidance.--The Administrator shall issue guidance for 
        the development and implementation of agency real property 
        plans. Such guidance shall include recommendations on--
                    ``(A) how to identify excess properties;
                    ``(B) how to evaluate the costs and benefits 
                involved with disposing of real property;
                    ``(C) how to prioritize disposal decisions based on 
                agency missions and anticipated future need for 
                holdings; and
                    ``(D) how best to dispose of those properties 
                identified as excess to the needs of the agency.
            ``(2) Annual report.--The Administrator shall submit an 
        annual report, for each of the first 5 years after 2008, to the 
        Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs of the Senate, based on data submitted 
        from all executive agencies, detailing executive agency efforts 
        to reduce their real property assets.
            ``(3) Assistance.--The Administrator shall assist executive 
        agencies in the identification and disposal of excess real 
        property.
    ``(b) Duties of Executive Agencies.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each executive agency shall--
                    ``(A) maintain adequate inventory controls and 
                accountability systems for property under its control;
                    ``(B) continuously survey property under its 
                control to identify excess property;
                    ``(C) promptly report excess property to the 
                Administrator;
                    ``(D) perform the care and handling of excess 
                property; and
                    ``(E) transfer or dispose of excess property as 
                promptly as possible in accordance with authority 
                delegated and regulations prescribed by the 
                Administrator.
            ``(2) Specific requirements with respect to real 
        property.--With respect to real property, each executive agency 
        shall--
                    ``(A) develop and implement a real property plan in 
                order to identify properties to declare as excess using 
                the guidance issued under subsection (a)(1);
                    ``(B) identify and categorize all real property 
                owned, leased, or otherwise managed by the agency;
                    ``(C) establish adequate goals and incentives that 
                lead the agency to reduce excess real property in its 
                inventory;
                    ``(D) when appropriate, use the authorities in 
                section 572(a)(2)(B) of this title in order to identify 
                and prepare real property to be reported as excess.
            ``(3) Additional requirements.--Each executive agency, as 
        far as practicable, shall--
                    ``(A) reassign property to another activity within 
                the agency when the property is no longer required for 
                the purposes of the appropriation used to make the 
                purchase;
                    ``(B) transfer excess property under its control to 
                other Federal agencies and to organizations specified 
                in section 321(c)(2) of this title; and
                    ``(C) obtain excess properties from other Federal 
                agencies to meet mission needs before acquiring non-
                Federal property.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The item relating to section 524 in the 
table of sections at the beginning of chapter 5 of such title is 
amended to read as follows:

``524. Duties of the General Services Administration and executive 
                            agencies.''.

SEC. 4. ENHANCED AUTHORITIES WITH REGARD TO PREPARING PROPERTIES TO BE 
              REPORTED AS EXCESS.

    Section 572(a)(2) of title 40, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as 
        subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(B) Additional authority.--(i) From the fund 
                described in paragraph (1), subject to clause (iv), the 
                Administrator may obligate an amount to pay the direct 
                and indirect costs related to identifying and preparing 
                properties to be reported excess by another agency.
                    ``(ii) The General Services Administration may be 
                reimbursed from the proceeds of the sale of such 
                properties for such costs.
                    ``(iii) Net proceeds shall be dispersed pursuant to 
                section 571 of this title.
                    ``(iv) The authority under clause (i) to obligate 
                funds to prepare properties to be reported excess does 
                not include the authority to convey such properties by 
                sale, lease, exchange, or otherwise, including through 
                leaseback arrangements.
                    ``(v) Nothing in this subparagraph is intended to 
                affect subparagraph (D).''.

SEC. 5. ENHANCED AUTHORITIES WITH REGARD TO REVERTED REAL PROPERTY.

    (a) Authority to Pay Expenses Related to Reverted Real Property.--
Section 572(a)(2)(A) of title 40, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) The direct and indirect costs 
                        associated with the reversion, custody, and 
                        disposal of reverted real property.''.
    (b) Requirements Related to Sales of Reverted Property Under 
Section 550.--Section 550(b)(1) of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(1) In general.--''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``If the official, 
        in consultation with the Administrator, recommends reversion of 
        the property, the Administrator shall take control of such 
        property, and, subject to subparagraph (B), sell it at or above 
        appraised fair market value for cash and not by lease, 
        exchange, or leaseback arrangements.
            ``(B) Prior to sale, the Administrator shall make such 
        property available to State and local governments and certain 
        non-profit institutions or organizations pursuant to this 
        section and sections 553 and 554 of this title.''.
    (c) Requirements Related to Sales of Reverted Property Under 
Section 553.--Section 553(e) of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``This Section.--''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``If the 
        Administrator determines that reversion of the property is 
        necessary to enforce compliance with the terms of the 
        conveyance, the Administrator shall take control of such 
        property and, subject to paragraph (2), sell it at or above 
        appraised fair market value for cash and not by lease, 
        exchange, or leaseback arrangements.
    ``(2) Prior to sale, the Administrator shall make such property 
available to State and local governments and certain non-profit 
institutions or organizations pursuant to this section and sections 550 
and 554 of this title.''.
    (d) Requirements Related to Sales of Reverted Property Under 
Section 554.--Section 554(f) of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``This Section.--''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``If the Secretary, 
        in consultation with the Administrator, recommends reversion of 
        the property, the Administrator shall take control of such 
        property and, subject to paragraph (2), sell it at or above 
        appraised fair market value for cash and not by lease, 
        exchange, or leaseback arrangements.
    ``(2) Prior to sale, the Administrator shall make such property 
available to State and local governments and certain non-profit 
institutions or organizations pursuant to this section and sections 550 
and 553 of this title.''.

SEC. 6. AGENCY RETENTION OF PROCEEDS.

    The text of section 571 of title 40, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
    ``(a) Deposit of Proceeds.--Net proceeds described in subsection 
(d) shall be deposited into the appropriate real property account of 
the agency that had custody and accountability for the real property. 
Such funds shall be expended only as authorized in annual 
appropriations Acts and only for activities as described in section 
524(b) of this title and disposal activities, including paying costs 
incurred by the General Services Administration for any disposal-
related activity authorized by this title. Proceeds shall not be 
expended for activities or projects subject to the requirements of 
section 3307 of this title.
    ``(b) Effect on Other Sections.--Nothing in this section is 
intended to affect section 572(b) or 574 of this title.
    ``(c) Disposal Agency for Reverted Property.--For the purposes of 
this section, the General Services Administration, as the disposal 
agency, shall be treated as the agency with custody and accountability 
for properties which revert to the United States under sections 550, 
553, and 554 of this title.
    ``(d) Proceeds.--The net proceeds referred to in subsection (a) are 
proceeds under this chapter from a--
            ``(1) transfer of excess property to a federal agency for 
        agency use; or
            ``(2) sale, lease, or other disposition of surplus 
        property.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 21, 2008.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.
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