[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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