I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5001 
To authorize the Administrator of General Services to provide for the redevel-
opment of the Old Post Office Building located in the District of Colum-
bia. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 16, 2008 
Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To authorize the Administrator of General Services to pro-
vide for the redevelopment of the Old Post Office Build-
ing located in the District of Columbia. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Old Post Office Build-
ing Redevelopment Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. OLD POST OFFICE BUILDING DEFINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘Old Post Office Building’’ 
means the land, including any improvements thereon, that 
is located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., in the Dis-
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trict of Columbia, and under the jurisdiction, custody, and 
control of the General Services Administration. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) For almost a decade the Subcommittee on 
Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emer-
gency Management of the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent-
atives has expressed considerable concern about the 
waste and neglect of the valuable, historic Old Post 
Office Building, centrally located in the heart of the 
Nation’s Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue, and has 
pressed the General Services Administration to de-
velop and fully use this building. 
(2) The disposition of the Old Post Office 
Building became even more pressing following a vio-
lent altercation and killing outside the Old Post Of-
fice Building after an event in which the General 
Services Administration rented the facility to gain 
some revenue from the building. 
(3) The policy of the Government long has been 
to preserve and make usable historic properties rath-
er than sell them for revenue, particularly this prop-
erty where security matters related to its location 
alone may hinder its against sale to a private party. 
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(4) The General Services Administration issued 
a Request for Expression of Interest in 2004 for de-
veloping the Old Post Office Building that generated 
a healthy private sector interest, but the General 
Services Administration failed to move forward re-
garding such interest. 
(5) The Old Post Office Building is a wasted 
asset and a drain on revenue while its full use, its 
central location, and unique historic value could pro-
vide a handsome financial return to the Government. 
SEC. 4. REDEVELOPMENT OF OLD POST OFFICE BUILDING. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT.—The Admin-
istrator of General Services may enter into a devel-
opment agreement with a private entity to provide 
for the redevelopment of the Old Post Office Build-
ing. 
(2) OTHER AGREEMENTS.—In addition to the 
development agreement authorized under paragraph 
(1), the Administrator and the private entity se-
lected under such paragraph may enter into other 
agreements (including leases, contracts, cooperative 
agreements, trusts, and ground leases) to provide for 
the development, construction, rehabilitation, oper-
ation, maintenance, or use of the Old Post Office 
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Building or such other activities related to the Old 
Post Office Building as the Administrator considers 
appropriate. 
(b) SELECTION OF PRIVATE ENTITY.—The Adminis-
trator shall select a private entity under subsection (a) 
using such procedures as the Administrator considers nec-
essary to promote competition and protect the interests 
of the United States. 
(c) TERMS
AND CONDITIONS.—The development 
agreement authorized under subsection (a)(1)— 
(1) shall have as its primary purpose enhancing 
the value of the Old Post Office Building to the 
United States; 
(2) shall contain such terms and conditions and 
be negotiated pursuant to such procedures as the 
Administrator considers necessary to promote com-
petition and protect the interests of the United 
States; 
(3) may include provisions for a ground lease of 
the Old Post Office Building, or any part thereof, 
for a term not to exceed 50 years; 
(4) may provide a lease option to the United 
States, to be exercised at the discretion of the Ad-
ministrator, to occupy any general purpose office 
space in the Old Post Office Building; 
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of space, goods, or services of benefit to the United States, 
and may also include construction, repair, remodeling, or 
other physical improvements or maintenance of Federal 
property. 
(e) OBLIGATIONS TO MAKE PAYMENTS.—Any obliga-
tion to make payments by the Administrator for the use 
of space, goods, or services by the General Services Ad-
ministration on property that is subject to a development 
or other agreement under this section may only be made 
to the extent that necessary funds have been made avail-
able, in advance, in an annual appropriations Act, to the 
Administrator from the fund established under section 
592 of title 40, United States Code. 
(f) NATIONAL CAPITAL PLANNING COMMISSION.— 
Nothing in this section may be construed to limit or other-
wise affect the authority of the National Capital Planning 
Commission with respect to the Old Post Office Building. 
(g) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—The authority 
of the Administrator under this Act shall not be subject 
to— 
(1) chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, United 
States Code; 
(2) section 3307 of title 40, United States 
Code; 
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(3) section 501 of the McKinney-Vento Home-
less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11411); or 
(4) any other provision of law (other than Fed-
eral laws relating to environmental and historic pres-
ervation) inconsistent with this section. 
SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Before entering into a develop-
ment agreement under section 3, the Administrator of 
General Services shall transmit to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Environment and Pub-
lic Works of the Senate a report on such agreement. 
(b) CONTENTS.—A report transmitted under this sec-
tion shall include a summary of a cost-benefit analysis of 
the proposed development agreement and a description of 
the material provisions of the proposed agreement. 
(c) REVIEW BY CONGRESS.—A proposed development 
agreement under section 3 may not become effective until 
the end of a 30-day period of continuous session of Con-
gress following the date of the transmittal of a report on 
the agreement under this section. For purposes of the pre-
ceding sentence, continuity of a session of Congress is bro-
ken only by an adjournment sine die, and there shall be 
excluded from the computation of such 30-day period any 
day during which either House of Congress is not in ses-
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sion during an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day 
certain. 
SEC. 6. USE OF PROCEEDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Net proceeds to the Government 
from a development or other agreement entered into under 
section 3 shall be deposited into, administered, and ex-
pended, subject to appropriations Acts, as part of the fund 
established under section 592 of title 40, United States 
Code. In this subsection, the term ‘‘net proceeds from an 
agreement entered into under section 3’’ means the pro-
ceeds from the agreement minus the expenses incurred by 
the Administrator with respect to the agreement. 
(b) RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.—The Administrator 
may retain from the proceeds of a development or other 
agreement entered into under section 3 amounts necessary 
to recover the expenses incurred by the Administrator with 
respect to the agreement. Such amounts may be expended 
without further appropriation or authorization or may be 
used to reimburse the fund or account of the Adminis-
trator that initially incurred the expense with respect to 
the agreement. 
SEC. 7. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 
The authority granted to the Administrator of Gen-
eral Services under this Act with respect to the Old Post 
Office Building shall be in addition to authorities of the 
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Administrator to acquire, operate, maintain, protect, or 
dispose of real property. 
Æ 
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