[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5001 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5001
To authorize the Administrator of General Services to provide for the
redevelopment of the Old Post Office Building located in the District
of Columbia.
_______________________________________________________________________
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 provide for the
redevelopment of the Old Post Office Building located in the District
of Columbia.
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 ``Old Post Office Building
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 District 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 Emergency Management of the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives 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 develop and fully use this building.
(2) The disposition of the Old Post Office Building became
even more pressing following a violent altercation and killing
outside the Old Post Office 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 rather than sell them for
revenue, particularly this property where security matters
related to its location alone may hinder its against sale to a
private party.
(4) The General Services Administration issued a Request
for Expression of Interest in 2004 for developing the Old Post
Office Building that generated a healthy private sector
interest, but the General Services Administration failed to
move forward regarding 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 provide 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 Administrator of General
Services may enter into a development agreement with a private
entity to provide for the redevelopment of the Old Post Office
Building.
(2) Other agreements.--In addition to the development
agreement authorized under paragraph (1), the Administrator and
the private entity selected under such paragraph may enter into
other agreements (including leases, contracts, cooperative
agreements, trusts, and ground leases) to provide for the
development, construction, rehabilitation, operation,
maintenance, or use of the Old Post Office Building or such
other activities related to the Old Post Office Building as the
Administrator considers appropriate.
(b) Selection of Private Entity.--The Administrator shall select a
private entity under subsection (a) using such procedures as the
Administrator considers necessary 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 competition 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 Administrator, to occupy any
general purpose office space in the Old Post Office Building;
(5) shall not require, unless specifically determined
otherwise by the Administrator, Federal ownership of the Old
Post Office Building at or near the expiration of any space
lease of that facility to the United States;
(6) shall describe the consideration, duties, and
responsibilities for which the United States and the private
entity are responsible;
(7) shall provide--
(A) that the United States will not be liable for
any action, debt, or liability of any entity created by
the development agreement; and
(B) that such entity may not execute any instrument
or document creating or evidencing any indebtedness
unless such instrument or document specifically
disclaims any liability of the United States under the
instrument or document; and
(8) shall include such other terms and conditions as the
Administrator considers appropriate.
(d) Consideration.--The development agreement entered into under
subsection (a)(1) shall be for fair consideration, as determined by the
Administrator. Consideration under the agreement may be provided in
whole or in part through in-kind consideration, including provision 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 obligation to make payments
by the Administrator for the use of space, goods, or services by the
General Services Administration 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 available, 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 otherwise 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;
(3) section 501 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 11411); or
(4) any other provision of law (other than Federal laws
relating to environmental and historic preservation)
inconsistent with this section.
SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.--Before entering into a development agreement under
section 3, the Administrator of General Services shall transmit to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of
the Senate a report on such agreement.
(b) Contents.--A report transmitted under this section 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 Congress following the date of the transmittal of
a report on the agreement under this section. For purposes of the
preceding sentence, continuity of a session of Congress is broken 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 session 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 expended, 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 proceeds 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 Administrator that initially
incurred the expense with respect to the agreement.
SEC. 7. SAVINGS CLAUSE.
The authority granted to the Administrator of General Services
under this Act with respect to the Old Post Office Building shall be in
addition to authorities of the Administrator to acquire, operate,
maintain, protect, or dispose of real property.
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