II Calendar No. 555 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2178 [Report No. 112–241] IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 8, 2012 Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Coburn, and Mr. Begich) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs November 27, 2012 Reported by Mr. Lieberman, with an amendment Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic A BILL To require the Federal Government to expedite the sale of underutilized Federal real property.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Federal Real Property Asset Management Reform Act of 2012.

2.

Sale of excess Federal property

(a)

In general

Chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: VII

Expedited disposal of real property

621.

Definitions

In this subchapter: (1)

Administrator

The term Administrator means the Administrator of General Services. (2)

Council

The term Council means the Federal Real Property Council established by section 623(a). (3)

Director

The term Director means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. (4)

Landholding agency

The term landholding agency means a landholding agency (as defined in section 501(i) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11411(i))). (5)

Underutilized property

(A)

In general

The term underutilized property means a parcel of property under the administrative jurisdiction of the Federal Government that is— (i)excess; (ii)surplus; (iii)underperforming; or (iv)otherwise not meeting the needs of the Federal Government, as determined by the Director. (B)

Exclusion

The term underutilized property does not include— (i)any parcel of real property, and any building or other structure located on real property, that is to be closed or realigned under the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act (10 U.S.C. 2687 note; Public Law 100–526); (ii)any property that is excluded for reasons of national security by the Director or by the Secretary of Defense; (iii)any public lands (as defined in section 203 of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1722)) administered by— (I)the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, the Director of the National Park Service, or the Commissioner of Reclamation; or (II)the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service; (iv)any Indian lands (as defined in section 203 of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1722)); (v)any properties operated and maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority; (vi)any properties located outside the United States that are operated or maintained by the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development; (vii)any properties that are excepted from the definition of property under section 102; or (viii)any properties under the custody and control of the United States Postal Service, unless otherwise specified in this subchapter.

622.

Duties of landholding agencies

Each landholding agency shall— (1)maintain adequate inventory controls and accountability systems for property under the control of the agency; (2)define current and future workforce projections so as to have the capacity to assess the needs of the Federal workforce regarding the use of Federal real property; (3)continuously survey property under the control of the agency to identify underutilized property; (4)promptly report underutilized property to the Administrator; (5)establish goals that lead the agency to reduce underutilized property in the inventory of the agency; (6)reassign underutilized property to another activity within the agency if the property is no longer required for purposes of the appropriation used to make the purchase; (7)transfer underutilized property under the control of the agency to other Federal agencies and to organizations specified in section 321(c)(2); (8)obtain underutilized properties from other Federal agencies to meet mission needs before acquiring non-Federal property; and (9)adopt workplace practices, configurations, and management techniques that can achieve increased levels of productivity and decrease the need for real property assets.

623.

Establishment of a Federal Real Property Council

(a)

Establishment

There is established within the Office of Management and Budget a council to be known as the Federal Real Property Council. (b)

Purpose

The purpose of the Council shall be to develop guidance for the asset management program of each executive agency. (c)

Composition

(1)

In general

The Council shall be composed exclusively of— (A)the senior real property officers of each executive agency; (B)the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget; (C)the Controller of the Office of Management and Budget; (D)the Administrator; and (E)any other full-time or permanent part-time Federal officials or employees, as the Chairperson determines to be necessary. (2)

Chairperson

The Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget shall serve as Chairperson of the Council. (3)

Administrative support

The Office of Management and Budget shall provide funding and administrative support for the Council, as appropriate. (d)

Duties

The Council, in consultation with the Director and the Administrator, shall— (1)establish an asset management plan, to be updated annually, which shall include performance measures to determine the effectiveness of Federal real property management that are designed— (A)to enable Congress and heads of landholding agencies to track progress in the achievement of property management objectives on a government-wide basis; and (B)allow for comparison of the performance of landholding agencies against industry and other public sector agencies in terms of performance; (2)in developing and implementing the performance measures described in paragraph (1), use existing data sources and automated data collection tools; (3)not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this subchapter, submit to the Committees on Environment and Public Works and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives a report that contains— (A)an analysis of the existing inventory of Federal civilian real properties and the condition of those assets, including data relating to— (i)the age and condition of the property; (ii)the size in square footage and acreage; (iii)the geographical location, including an address and description; (iv)operating costs; (v)the history of capital expenditures; (vi)sustainability metrics; (vii)the number of Federal employees and functions housed in the respective property; and (viii)the relevance of each Federal real property to the mission of the landholding agency; (B)an identification of properties that can be removed from the Federal inventory and sold for proceeds, transferred, or otherwise disposed of, so as to reduce the civilian real property inventory and operating costs of the Federal Government; (C)a list of civilian real property assets that are agency field offices that are suitable for co-location into another Federal civilian real property asset; (D)an evaluation of the leasing process in effect as of the date of submission of the report to identify and document inefficiencies in that process; (E)a suggested strategy to reduce the reliance of landholding agencies on leased space for long-term needs if ownership would be less costly; and (F)an assessment of domestically held, federally leased space, including— (i)a description of the overall quantity and type of space leased by landholding agencies; and (ii)an identification of current contracts for leased office space in which the leased space is not fully used or occupied (including a plan for subletting of unoccupied space); (4)not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this subchapter, and annually thereafter, submit to the Director, for the year covered by the report— (A)all underutilized property under the jurisdiction of each landholding agency; (B)an asset disposal plan, or an update of an asset disposal plan, that includes an annual goal established under section 622(5) to be used by landholding agencies in reducing, by not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subchapter, underutilized real property in the inventory of the Federal Government; (C)the number of real property disposals completed, including the disposal method used for each individual real property; and (D)specific milestones, measurable savings, and evaluation criteria for the disposal of real property under this subchapter; (5)in accordance with subsection (e), identify and compile a list of civilian real property assets that are agency field offices that are suitable for co-location into other Federal civilian real property assets; and (6)(A)review contracts for leased office space that are in effect as of the date of submission of the report; and (B)work with landholding agencies to renegotiate leases having at least 2 years remaining in the term of the leases to recognize potential cost savings as quickly as practicable. (e)

Co-Location among postal service properties

(1)

Definitions

In this subsection: (A)

Agency field office

The term agency field office means the field office of a landholding agency. (B)

Postal property

The term Postal property means real property owned by the United States Postal Service. (2)

Identification of real property assets

Each year, the Council shall— (A)identify and compile a list of agency field offices that are suitable for co-location with another Federal civilian real property asset; and (B)submit the list to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Postmaster General. (3)

Postal property

(A)

In general

Not later than 30 days after the completion of the list under paragraph (2), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in collaboration with the Postmaster General, shall identify agency field offices on the list that are within reasonable distance of a Postal property. (B)

Reasonable distance

For purposes of this paragraph, an agency field office shall be considered within reasonable distance of a Postal property if the office would be able to fulfill the mission of the office if the office is located at the Postal property. (C)

Review by Postal Service

Not later than 90 days after the receipt of the list submitted under paragraph (2)(B), the Postmaster General shall— (i)review the list; and (ii)submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a report containing the conclusions of the review. (4)

Terms of co-location

On approval of the recommendations under paragraph (3) by the Postmaster General and the applicable agency head, the co-location of a Postal property and an agency field office shall consist of the Executive agency that owns or leases the agency field office entering into a lease for space within the Postal property with United States Postal Service that has— (A)an initial lease term of not less than 5 years; (B)a cost that is within 5 percent of the prevailing market lease rate for a similarly situated space identified under this subsection. (f)

OMB scorecard

The Director shall prepare an annual scorecard measuring the success of each landholding agency in achieving savings under this subchapter.

624.

Limitation on certain leasing authorities

(a)

In general

Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, a landholding agency with independent leasing authority shall— (1)obtain congressional approval for all leases requiring a prospectus under section 3307; (2)acquire space at rates consistent with prevailing market rates for comparable facilities within the specified geographical area; and (3)not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subchapter and annually thereafter, submit to the Administrator a report that describes the use of the independent leasing authority during the period covered by the report. (b)

Subleasing

The head of a landholding agency may by lease, permit, license, or similar instrument make available to State and local governments the unexpired portion of any government lease for real property if the head of the landholding agency determines that the property is underutilized.

625.

Database

The Administrator shall— (1)not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subchapter, establish and maintain a single, comprehensive, and descriptive database of all real property under the custody and control of all landholding branch agencies, except when otherwise required for reasons of national security; (2)collect from each landholding agency such descriptive information (except for classified information) as the Administrator determines will best describe the nature, use, and extent of real property holdings for the Federal Government; and (3)to the extent consistent with national security, make the database established under paragraph (1) accessible to the public at no cost through the website of the General Services Administration.

626.

Expedited disposal program

(a)

In general

(1)

Required disposal

(A)

In general

On an annual basis, the Director shall require landholding agencies to dispose of, by sale, transfer, or other means of disposal, any real property determined by the Director to be underutilized property under the goal established under section 622(5). (B)

Fair market value requirement

Underutilized property required to be disposed of under subparagraph (A) may not be sold for less than the fair market value, as determined by the Administrator, in consultation with the head of the applicable executive agency. (C)

Monetary proceeds requirement

(i)

In general

Underutilized property may be sold under this section only if disposal of the property will generate monetary proceeds to the Federal Government that exceed the costs of disposal of the property. (ii)

Prohibitions on noncash transactions

A disposal of real property under this section may not include any exchange, trade, transfer, acquisition of the like-kind property, or other noncash transaction as part of the disposal. (2)

Website

(A)

In general

Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Administrator shall ensure that all real properties selected for disposal under this section are listed on a website that shall— (i)be updated routinely; and (ii)include the functionality to allow any member of the public, at the option of the member, to receive updates of the list through electronic mail. (B)

National security exemption

The Director or the Secretary of Defense may, for purposes of national security, exclude from listing on the website under subparagraph (A) any real property selected for disposal under this section. (3)

Applicability of certain law

Any expedited disposal of a real property conducted under this section shall not be subject to— (A)any section of An Act Authorizing the Transfer of Certain Real Property for Wildlife, or other Purposes (16 U.S.C. 667b); (B)sections 107 and 317 of title 23; (C)sections 545(b)(8), 550, 553, 554, and 1304(b) of this title; (D)section 501 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11411); (E)section 47151 of title 49; (F)section 13(d) of the Surplus Property Act of 1944 (50 U.S.C. App. 1622(d)); (G)any other provision of law authorizing the conveyance of real property owned by the Federal Government for no consideration; or (H)any congressional notification requirement other than that in section 545 of this title. (b)

Use of proceeds

(1)

In general

Of the proceeds received from the disposal of any real property under this subchapter— (A)not less than 80 percent shall be returned to the general fund of the Treasury for debt reduction; (B)the lesser of 18 percent or the share of proceeds otherwise authorized to be retained under law shall be retained by landholding agencies, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3); (C)not more than 2 percent shall be made available to carry out section 627, subject to annual appropriations; and (D)any remaining share of the proceeds shall be returned to the general fund of the Treasury for debt reduction. (2)

Limitation on use of proceeds

Any proceeds retained by landholding agencies under this section shall be— (A)deposited into the appropriate real property account of the agency that had custody and accountability for the real property, with the funds expended only as authorized in annual appropriations Acts; (B)used— (i)by not later than 1 year after the date of disposal of the real property; and (ii)only for activities relating to Federal real property asset management and disposal, including paying costs incurred by the General Services Administration for any disposal-related activity authorized by this title; and (C)if not used by the date described in subparagraph (A)(i), returned to the general fund of the Treasury for debt reduction purposes. (3)

Postal property proceeds

The proceeds resulting from the disposal of any property owned by the United States Postal Service shall be deposited in the Postal Service Fund established under section 2003 of title 39. (c)

Public benefit

(1)

Conveyance

If an underutilized property has not been disposed of by the date that is 3 years after the date of designation of the property as underutilized, the Director, in consultation with the Administrator and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, may consider a request from the disposing agency that the underutilized property be conveyed to State and local governments or nonprofit organizations for various public purposes or uses as permitted by applicable law. (2)

Predominant use and size standards

Underutilized property the predominant use of which is other than housing, and the area of which is equal to or greater than 25,000 square feet or the fair market value of which exceeds $2,000,000, shall be considered to be unsuitable for disposal under this subsection. (d)

Enforcement

(1)

In general

Except as provided in paragraph (3), if a landholding agency fails to make available for public sale the underutilized properties described in subsection (a) by the date that is 18 months after the date of a determination by the Director under subsection (a), no landholding agency may acquire any real property not under the administrative jurisdiction of the Federal Government, by sale or lease, until the Director submits a certification to Congress of the disposal of all of those surplus real properties. (2)

Sequestration authority

Except as provided in paragraph (3), if a landholding agency fails to dispose of, or make available for public sale, the underutilized properties described in subsection (a) by the date that is 2 years after the date of a determination by the Director under subsection (a)— (A)the Director shall order a 1-time sequestration from the annual budget of the landholding agency equal to 80 percent of the fair market value of the underutilized property, with the sequestered funds returned to the general fund of the Treasury for debt reduction purposes; and (B)the Director shall submit a sequestration report to Committees on Budget, Environment and Public Works, and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committees on Budget, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives. (3)

Waiver

Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to a landholding agency if— (A)the landholding agency submits to the Director and the Committees on Environment and Public Works and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives a written justification describing the reasons why the surplus real properties described in subsection (a) under the jurisdiction of the landholding agency were not disposed of; and (B)Congress enacts a law approving the waiver. (4)

Report

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subchapter and annually thereafter, the Council shall submit to the Director a report listing each landholding agency that fails to meet the applicable underutilized property reduction goal established under section 622(5), along with a list of the remaining underutilized properties of the landholding agency. (e)

Termination of authority

The authority provided by this section terminates on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of this subchapter.

627.

Homeless assistance grants

(a)

Definitions

In this section: (1)

Homeless

The term homeless has the meaning given the term in section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302), except that subsection (c) of that section shall not apply. (2)

Permanent housing

The term permanent housing has the meaning given the term section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360). (3)

Private nonprofit organization

The term private nonprofit organization has the meaning given the term in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360). (4)

Representative of the homeless

The term representative of the homeless has the meaning given the term in section 501(i) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11411(i)). (5)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. (6)

Transitional housing

The term transitional housing has the meaning given the term in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360). (b)

Grant authority

To the extent amounts are made available under section 626 for use under this section, the Secretary shall make grants to eligible private nonprofit organizations under subsection (c) through the continuum of care program established under subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.), to purchase property suitable for use to assist the homeless in accordance with subsection (d). (c)

Eligible grantees

To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (b), a private nonprofit organization shall be a representative of the homeless. (d)

Use of properties for housing or shelter for the homeless

(1)

Eligible uses

A private nonprofit organization that receives a grant under subsection (b) shall use the amounts received only to acquire or rehabilitate real property for use to provide permanent housing, transitional housing, or temporary shelter to the homeless. (2)

Term of use

The Secretary may not make a grant under subsection (b) to a private nonprofit organization unless the private nonprofit organization provides to the Secretary such assurances as the Secretary determines necessary to ensure that any property acquired or rehabilitated using amounts received under a grant is used only for the uses described in paragraph (1) for a period of not less than 15 years. (e)

Preference

In awarding grants under subsection (b), the Secretary shall give preference to private nonprofit organizations that operate within areas in which Federal real property is being sold under the disposal program authorized under section 626. (f)

Regulations

The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section.

. (b)

Technical and Conforming Amendment

The table of sections for chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 611 the following: SUBCHAPTER VII—Expedited disposal of real property Sec. 621. Definitions. Sec. 622. Duties of landholding agencies. Sec. 623. Establishment of a Federal Real Property Council. Sec. 624. Limitation on certain leasing authorities. Sec. 625. Database. Sec. 626. Expedited disposal program. Sec. 627. Homeless assistance grants. . (c)

Report of the Comptroller General

Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the use by executive agencies of the authorities provided by this Act and amendments made by this Act.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Federal Real Property Asset Management Reform Act of 2012.

2.

Table of contents

The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—Property management plans Sec. 101. Expedited disposal of real property. TITLE II—Property Management Policy Sec. 201. Property management policy. Sec. 202. Consideration of life-cycle cost required.

November 27, 2012 Reported with an amendment