ROOMIE Act

Bill: 118-s-5647
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA]
Introduced: 2024-12-20
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Government buildings, facilities, and property

Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management

Lease and rental services
Latest action: action_date: 2024-12-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5647 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 20 (legislative day, December 16), 2024 Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To require Federal agencies to impose in-person work requirements for employees of those agencies and to occupy a certain portion of the office space of those agencies, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Reinforce Occupancy Obligations for Maximized Interagency Efficiency Act or the ROOMIE Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of General Services. (2) Federal agency The term Federal agency has the meaning given the term in section 621 of title 40, United States Code. (3) Federal civilian real property The term Federal civilian real property has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 ( 40 U.S.C. 1303 note; Public Law 114–287 ). (4) Usable square feet The term usable square feet has the meaning given the term by the Administrator. 3. Findings Congress finds that— (1) according to a 2023 review of Federal agencies by the Government Accountability Office— (A) 17 Federal agencies used on average an estimated 25 percent or less of the capacity of their headquarters buildings ; and (B) 1 Federal agency headquarters examined would only occupy 67 percent of the office space of the Federal agency if 100 percent of the employees of the Federal agency worked in-person; (2) according to a 2024 report by the Public Buildings Reform Board established by section 4(a) of the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 ( 40 U.S.C. 1303 note; Public Law 114–287 )— (A) in the National Capital Region, the Federal Government owns or leases almost 90,000,000 square feet of property; (B) a sample of Federal properties in Washington, D.C., maintained only 12 percent capacity on average; (C) billions of dollars are being expended on buildings that should be disposed of given the new normal of low occupancy ; and (D) some Federal agencies have developed cultural expectations that they should retain a flagship property despite significant under usage of that property; and (3) according to a 2023 report by the Office of Audits of the Office of Inspector General of the General Services Administration— (A) Federal Government buildings can pose significant health risks if they remain underutilized; and (B) since July 2023, elevated levels of Legionella , which is a bacterium that can cause serious infection and death, were found in six GSA-controlled buildings, all of which are open to the public . 4. In-person work requirements (a) Federal agency policy modification (1) In general Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each Federal agency shall amend the policies of the Federal agency, if necessary, to require— (A) not less than 80 percent of the employees of the Federal agency to work in-person Monday through Friday of each week, not including any day that is a legal public holiday described in section 6103 of title 5, United States Code, as certified by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and (B) except as provided in paragraph (2), not less than 60 percent of the usable square feet of the office space of the Federal agency in any Federal civilian real property owned, leased, or controlled by the Federal agency to be occupied by employees of the Federal agency, as certified by the Administrator. (2) Exception (A) In general If a Federal agency does not employ enough individuals to occupy 60 percent of the usable square feet of the office space of the Federal agency in any Federal civilian real property owned, leased, or controlled by the Federal agency, the head of the Federal agency shall, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, prepare and submit to the Administrator, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives an occupancy plan in accordance with subparagraph (B). (B) Requirements An occupancy plan prepared and submitted under subparagraph (A) shall detail how the Federal agency plans to reach 60 percent occupancy in the usable square feet of the office space of the Federal agency in any Federal civilian real property owned, leased, or controlled by the Federal agency through the use of individuals employed by any Federal agency, with special consideration given to individuals employed by different Federal agencies. (b) Report Not later than 1 year after the date that is 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report regarding the implementation of the requirement under subsection (a)(1), as certified by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Administrator, as applicable. 5. Noncompliance (a) In general If a Federal agency fails to comply with section 4(a) by the deadlines described in that section, the Federal agency or the General Services Administration, as applicable, shall sell, terminate, or be prohibited from re-signing the lease for, the applicable Federal civilian real property in accordance with subsection (b) or (c), as applicable. (b) Property owned or controlled by the Federal agency If the Federal agency owns or controls the Federal civilian real property in which the office space described in subsection (a) is located, the Federal agency or the General Services Administration, as applicable, shall sell the Federal civilian real property. (c) Property leased by the Federal agency If the Federal agency leases the Federal civilian real property in which the office space described in subsection (a) is located, the Federal agency or the General Services Administration, as applicable— (1) if the lease contains an early termination or other applicable provision— (A) shall execute that provision and terminate the lease early; and (B) shall not re-sign the lease; or (2) if the lease does not contain an early termination or other applicable provision, shall not re-sign the lease.