[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 82 (Monday, May 19, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H4091-H4094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY DISPOSAL ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2008
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5787) to amend title 40, United States Code, to enhance
authorities with regard to real property that has yet to be reported
excess, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5787
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 ``Federal Real Property
Disposal Enhancement Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) In January 2003, the Government Accountability Office
identified Federal real property as a high-risk area, citing
excess property as a long-standing problem.
(2) The magnitude of the problem with excess Federal real
property continues to put the government at risk for lost
dollars and missed opportunities.
(3) The Administration has stated its goal is to reduce the
size of the Federal real property inventory by 5 percent, or
$15 billion, by disposing of unneeded assets by 2015.
(4) The Federal inventory includes many properties that are
no longer relevant to agencies' missions and agencies are
spending billions of dollars to maintain these unneeded
properties.
(5) The costs of preparing a property for transfer or sale
continue to hamper some agencies' efforts to address their
unneeded properties and serve as a disincentive to disposal
because, in the short-term, it can be more beneficial
economically to maintain a property that is not being used
than to dispose of it.
(6) Agencies should give greater attention to right-sizing
their real property portfolios.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to reduce the
Federal inventory of unneeded and costly property.
SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION AND
EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.
(a) In General.--Section 524 of title 40, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 524. Duties of the General Services Administration and
executive agencies
``(a) Duties of the General Services Administration.--
``(1) Guidance.--The Administrator shall issue guidance for
the development and implementation of agency real property
plans. Such guidance shall include recommendations on--
``(A) how to identify excess properties;
``(B) how to evaluate the costs and benefits involved with
disposing of real property;
``(C) how to prioritize disposal decisions based on agency
missions and anticipated future need for holdings; and
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``(D) how best to dispose of those properties identified as
excess to the needs of the agency.
``(2) Annual report.--The Administrator shall submit an
annual report, for each of the first 5 years after 2008, to
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, based on data submitted
from all executive agencies, detailing executive agency
efforts to reduce their real property assets.
``(3) Assistance.--The Administrator shall assist executive
agencies in the identification and disposal of excess real
property.
``(b) Duties of Executive Agencies.--
``(1) In general.--Each executive agency shall--
``(A) maintain adequate inventory controls and
accountability systems for property under its control;
``(B) continuously survey property under its control to
identify excess property;
``(C) promptly report excess property to the Administrator;
``(D) perform the care and handling of excess property; and
``(E) transfer or dispose of excess property as promptly as
possible in accordance with authority delegated and
regulations prescribed by the Administrator.
``(2) Specific requirements with respect to real
property.--With respect to real property, each executive
agency shall--
``(A) develop and implement a real property plan in order
to identify properties to declare as excess using the
guidance issued under subsection (a)(1);
``(B) identify and categorize all real property owned,
leased, or otherwise managed by the agency;
``(C) establish adequate goals and incentives that lead the
agency to reduce excess real property in its inventory;
``(D) when appropriate, use the authorities in section
572(a)(2)(B) of this title in order to identify and prepare
real property to be reported as excess.
``(3) Additional requirements.--Each executive agency, as
far as practicable, shall--
``(A) reassign property to another activity within the
agency when the property is no longer required for the
purposes of the appropriation used to make the purchase;
``(B) transfer excess property under its control to other
Federal agencies and to organizations specified in section
321(c)(2) of this title; and
``(C) obtain excess properties from other Federal agencies
to meet mission needs before acquiring non-Federal
property.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The item relating to section 524
in the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 5 of
such title is amended to read as follows:
``524. Duties of the General Services Administration and executive
agencies.''.
SEC. 4. ENHANCED AUTHORITIES WITH REGARD TO PREPARING
PROPERTIES TO BE REPORTED AS EXCESS.
Section 572(a)(2) of title 40, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) Additional authority.--(i) From the fund described in
paragraph (1), subject to clause (iv), the Administrator may
obligate an amount to pay the direct and indirect costs
related to identifying and preparing properties to be
reported excess by another agency.
``(ii) The General Services Administration may be
reimbursed from the proceeds of the sale of such properties
for such costs.
``(iii) Net proceeds shall be dispersed pursuant to section
571 of this title.
``(iv) The authority under clause (i) to obligate funds to
prepare properties to be reported excess does not include the
authority to convey such properties by sale, lease, exchange,
or otherwise, including through leaseback arrangements.
``(v) Nothing in this subparagraph is intended to affect
subparagraph (D).''.
SEC. 5. ENHANCED AUTHORITIES WITH REGARD TO REVERTED REAL
PROPERTY.
(a) Authority to Pay Expenses Related to Reverted Real
Property.--Section 572(a)(2)(A) of title 40, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) The direct and indirect costs associated with the
reversion, custody, and disposal of reverted real
property.''.
(b) Requirements Related to Sales of Reverted Property
Under Section 550.--Section 550(b)(1) of title 40, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(1) In general.--''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``If the official,
in consultation with the Administrator, recommends reversion
of the property, the Administrator shall take control of such
property, and, subject to subparagraph (B), sell it at or
above appraised fair market value for cash and not by lease,
exchange, or leaseback arrangements.
``(B) Prior to sale, the Administrator shall make such
property available to State and local governments and certain
non-profit institutions or organizations pursuant to this
section and sections 553 and 554 of this title.''.
(c) Requirements Related to Sales of Reverted Property
Under Section 553.--Section 553(e) of title 40, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``This Section.--''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``If the
Administrator determines that reversion of the property is
necessary to enforce compliance with the terms of the
conveyance, the Administrator shall take control of such
property and, subject to paragraph (2), sell it at or above
appraised fair market value for cash and not by lease,
exchange, or leaseback arrangements.
``(2) Prior to sale, the Administrator shall make such
property available to State and local governments and certain
non-profit institutions or organizations pursuant to this
section and sections 550 and 554 of this title.''.
(d) Requirements Related to Sales of Reverted Property
Under Section 554.--Section 554(f) of title 40, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``This Section.--''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``If the Secretary,
in consultation with the Administrator, recommends reversion
of the property, the Administrator shall take control of such
property and, subject to paragraph (2), sell it at or above
appraised fair market value for cash and not by lease,
exchange, or leaseback arrangements.
``(2) Prior to sale, the Administrator shall make such
property available to State and local governments and certain
non-profit institutions or organizations pursuant to this
section and sections 550 and 553 of this title.''.
SEC. 6. AGENCY RETENTION OF PROCEEDS.
The text of section 571 of title 40, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
``(a) Deposit of Proceeds.--Net proceeds described in
subsection (d) shall be deposited into the appropriate real
property account of the agency that had custody and
accountability for the real property. Such funds shall be
expended only as authorized in annual appropriations Acts and
only for activities as described in section 524(b) of this
title and disposal activities, including paying costs
incurred by the General Services Administration for any
disposal-related activity authorized by this title. Proceeds
shall not be expended for activities or projects subject to
the requirements of section 3307 of this title.
``(b) Effect on Other Sections.--Nothing in this section is
intended to affect section 572(b) or 574 of this title.
``(c) Disposal Agency for Reverted Property.--For the
purposes of this section, the General Services
Administration, as the disposal agency, shall be treated as
the agency with custody and accountability for properties
which revert to the United States under sections 550, 553,
and 554 of this title.
``(d) Proceeds.--The net proceeds referred to in subsection
(a) are proceeds under this chapter from a--
``(1) transfer of excess property to a federal agency for
agency use; or
``(2) sale, lease, or other disposition of surplus
property.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Watson) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I stand in support of H.R. 5787, the Federal Real Property Disposal
Enhancement Act, which is a sensible, bipartisan effort to address some
of the problems with the current Federal property disposal process.
There are three key provisions in this bill. The first allows the
General Services Administration to help pay the cost of other agencies'
disposal activities. In particular, GSA will be able to help agencies
pay costs with regard to properties that have yet to be declared
excess. These costs include environmental cleanup, demolition,
surveying, and life cycle costing.
Another key provision modifies existing law to make clear that when a
property has been transferred to a nonprofit organization or a State or
local government for a public purpose and that public purpose is no
longer being met, the property must revert to the Federal Government,
which must dispose of it.
The final major provision allows all agencies to retain the proceeds
from the sale of Federal surplus properties. These proceeds will be
used for disposal activities such as developing and implementing a plan
to identify and declare properties excess, appraisals, utilization
studies, and life cycle planning. The Office of Management and
[[Page H4093]]
Budget has stated that allowing agencies to retain the proceeds will
provide agencies with the funds necessary to cover upfront costs
associated with disposals.
This bill does not waive any existing law regarding the screening
process and therefore does not affect the access of homeless providers
or State and local communities to these properties.
I want to commend Representatives Moore and Duncan for introducing
this bill. I also want to thank Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member
Davis for their dedication to this issue for many years.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5787, the Federal Real
Property Disposal Enhancement Act, which was introduced last month by
Representatives Dennis Moore of Kansas and John Duncan of Tennessee.
This legislation would expand the number of agencies allowed to
retain the proceeds from the sale of surplus Federal real property and
would expand the authority of the General Services. It is very clear
that this is a good bill, and I support it. It is also very clear that
it is a step in the right direction but does not get us to where we
really need to be. In fact, this is simply the tip of the iceberg.
The Federal Government is the largest landowner in the country. As
such, it is essential that the government manage its properties as
efficiently and effectively as possible. More importantly, property
which is no longer of use to the Federal Government should be removed
from the inventory. Unfortunately, over the years Federal property
disposal processes have become increasingly cumbersome and unwieldy,
and agencies often decide it's easier to sit on property than to try to
get rid of it. In fact, when we as a Congress have done rounds of BRAC,
we have often had to do supplemental appropriations of dollars in order
to give away property that has become surplus. In fact, OMB estimates a
backlog of more than 21,000 properties in need of maintenance and
repair carrying a price tag of more than $18 billion.
Under Republican control, the Congress spent a considerable amount of
time working, mostly on a bipartisan basis, to reform the Federal real
property disposal system. The proposals we put forward for substantial
changes provided real reform. Although H.R. 5787 does not contain the
kind of substantive reform put forward in prior Congresses, it is
nevertheless an improvement on the current system.
I therefore ask my colleagues to strongly support this legislation as
a step in the right direction.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, in closing, today we have handled a great many
important resolutions on the floor and some laws. We've done this on a
bipartisan basis.
As we finish our suspensions for the House Oversight and Reform
Committee, I would simply ask my colleagues, the Speaker, to take note
that this past week, prices rose once again on gasoline in America. Up
17 cents in a blink of the eye, up a dollar since this Congress
switched hands.
It is very clear that we need to begin operating on a bipartisan
basis to bring down the price of gas and diesel fuel. We can only do
that if we work on as much of a bipartisan basis as we work on these
resolutions.
So I would ask all of my colleagues to note that the real problem
America cares about today is not the 100 years of the Congressional
Club. It is not, in fact, Arnold Palmer's accomplishments. It is not
even Frank Sinatra's doing it his way. It is, in fact, America's
inability to cope with rising gas prices, staggering unemployment, and
the inability to live in one's own home. I ask that my colleagues take
note of that and that we work on a bipartisan basis to bring a real
resolution to these problems.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to live in a democracy when
we can recognize our athletes, when we can recognize our entertainers,
we can recognize all of our people, along with doing the people's work.
The idea of a democracy says anyone at the lower end of the social
economic scale as well as those at the top need recognition. We need to
work together across aisles, not to be hampered by games that can be
played, but sincerely coming together as a body representing the 280
million Americans and those who are not quite citizens and to do their
work without phony procedures blocking our ability to make progress.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5787, as
amended, and commend Chairman Waxman for taking steps to address
Federal excess and surplus property issues.
H.R. 5787 authorizes the Administrator of General Services to
obligate funds to pay for a variety of services that must be conducted
before a property can be declared excess to the needs of the reporting
agency. These services include title searches, site remediation, site
security, and other activities necessary for a property to be declared
excess. Further, the bill authorizes the General Services
Administration to be reimbursed by the agency for these expenses from
the proceeds of the sale of the property. The net proceeds are retained
by the donor agency and can be used only for disposal-related
activities.
I want to thank Chairman Waxman for recognizing the concerns of the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the eligible
uses of these net proceeds, and for working to address these concerns.
The committee was particularly concerned that agencies, using this new-
found source of revenue, would engage in real property activities that
would otherwise need to go through the prospectus process and thus the
jurisdiction of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The
version of H.R. 5787 being considered today specifically addresses the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's concerns by prohibiting
the use of proceeds for activities or projects subject to the
prospectus process and other requirements of section 3307 title 40,
United States Code.
Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 5787, as amended, and support placing the
General Services Administration back in a leadership role for property
disposal activities of the Federal Government.
Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5787, the
Federal Real Property Disposal Enhancement Act. This is a bipartisan
solution to address some on the deficiencies that exist in Federal real
property management. I want to commend Representatives Moore and Duncan
for introducing this bill, and Ranking Member Davis for working with me
over many years on property issues.
As GAO has indicated by placing Federal real property on its ``high
risk'' list, problems abound. One such problem is that unneeded
buildings are in the Federal inventory. The magnitude of the problem
with excess Federal real property means that agencies are spending
billions of dollars maintaining properties no longer relevant to
agencies' missions.
The Federal Real Property Disposal Enhancement Act seeks to address
some of the hurdles that agencies are facing regarding disposal of
their unneeded property.
One key provision allows the General Services Administration to use
its funds to prepare properties to be declared excess by other
agencies. Agencies and GAO have testified that the cost of preparing a
property for transfer or sale serves as a disincentive to disposal
because, in the short term, it can be more beneficial economically to
maintain a property that is not being used than to dispose of it.
Basically, it is cheaper to pay to mow the grass and have a security
guard than to do appraisals, surveys, and environmental studies.
Another key provision allows all agencies to retain 100 percent of
the proceeds from sale. Most large landholding agencies already have
this benefit. However, smaller ones, such as the Federal Communications
Commission, which owns vacant towers, do not. After GSA obtained the
authority to retain proceeds in 2005, its disposals increased.
In addition, the bill clarifies that when a piece of property has
been given to a nonprofit or State or local government for a public
purpose and that public purpose ceases to exist, the federal government
must revert the property and dispose of it. The bill also calls on GSA
to issue guidance on disposing of excess properties and requires
agencies to develop and implement plans to dispose of their excess
property.
This is a commonsense measure and I am hopeful all members will be
able to support it.
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5787, as amended.
The question was taken.
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The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
____________________