[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 25, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H297-H299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION REAL ESTATE LEASING AUTHORITY 
                             REVOCATION ACT

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 388) to amend title 40, United States Code, to 
eliminate the leasing authority of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 388

       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 ``Securities and Exchange 
     Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act''.

     SEC. 2. LEASING OF SPACE FOR SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 
                   COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--Section 3304 of title 40, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Leasing of Space for Securities and Exchange 
     Commission.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on 
     and after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
     Securities and Exchange Commission may not lease general 
     purpose office space. The Administrator may lease such space 
     for the Securities and Exchange Commission under section 585 
     and this chapter.''.
       (b) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--The amendment 
     made by subsection (a) may not be construed to invalidate or 
     otherwise affect a lease entered into by the Securities and 
     Exchange Commission before the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. INDEPENDENT LEASING AUTHORITIES.

       (a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee 
     on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the 
     Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
     the Senate a report on the review described in subsection 
     (b).
       (b) Review.--The Comptroller General shall complete a 
     review under which the Comptroller General shall update the 
     2016 report of the Comptroller General (GAO-16-648) with a 
     specific focus on the following:
       (1) Updating the information included in Appendix II: 
     Federal Entities That Reported Having Independent Leasing 
     Authority for Domestic Offices and Warehouses of such report.
       (2) Determining to what extent Federal entities with 
     independent leasing authorities have had such authorities 
     rescinded or amended and the number and amount of office and 
     warehouse space such entities lease.
       (3) Determining to what extent have agencies with 
     independent leasing authority utilized the General Services 
     Administration for leasing, including utilization of 
     delegation of authority.
       (4) Identifying progress made on implementing the 
     recommendations in such report.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Graves) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all

[[Page H298]]

Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 388.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  H.R. 388 revokes the Securities and Exchange Commission's, or the 
SEC's, leasing authority for general office space and brings them in 
line with current leasing practices through the General Services 
Administration, or the GSA.
  In 2012, the SEC violated Federal law by signing a lease for 1.4 
million square feet that cost taxpayers $566 million. This resulted in 
investigations by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and 
the SEC's Inspector General.
  The conclusions of these investigations indicated that not only did 
the SEC exceed its authority with this lease, but also that the SEC had 
a history of mismanaging its leasing authority.
  Recent actions by the SEC during GSA's procurement of leased space 
for the SEC seem to indicate that the agency may be turning back to its 
old ways.
  This bill ensures that the SEC, like other Federal agencies, 
continues to use the GSA for its space needs and provides more 
safeguards for the taxpayers' money.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the legislation, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 388, the Securities and 
Exchange Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act.
  This legislation, introduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of the 
District of Columbia revokes the independent real estate leasing 
authority of the SEC and directs the Government Accountability Office 
to update its 2016 report on Federal entities with independent real 
estate leasing authority.
  While some Federal agencies have independent real estate leasing 
authority and have used it responsibly, the SEC has a history of 
egregious real estate practices.
  Congress granted the SEC independent leasing authority in 1990, which 
means the SEC does not need to use the General Services Administration 
for its real estate needs like most other government agencies do.
  In 2010, anticipating the agency would expand in response to the 
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC 
leased 900,000 square feet of space in the Constitution Center building 
in Washington, D.C.
  Then, a year later, in 2011, the SEC's Office of Inspector General 
issued a report which found that the SEC Office of Administrative 
Services conducted a flawed analysis to justify the need for this 
leased space and potentially committed Anti-Deficiency Act violations.
  SEC's Office of Inspector General found that OAS grossly 
overestimated the amount of space needed at SEC headquarters for the 
SEC's projected expansion and prepared a faulty Justification and 
Approval to support eliminating competition.
  Thankfully, Delegate Norton introduced identical legislation to 
repeal this authority during the 117th Congress, and that bill, H.R. 
1468, passed both the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
and the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. 
Unfortunately, H.R. 1468 was not considered by the Senate. Today, we 
are trying one more time to approve this commonsense legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
thank Chair Graves and Ranking Member Larsen for bringing this 
important bill to the floor.
  This bill would revoke the independent real estate leasing authority 
of the Securities and Exchange Commission and direct the Government 
Accountability Office to update its 2016 report on independent real 
estate leasing authority in the Federal Government. The House passed 
this bill last Congress.
  While a number of Federal agencies have independent real estate 
leasing authority, the SEC has a history of egregious real estate 
practices.
  In 2005, the SEC disclosed that it had unbudgeted costs of 
approximately $48 million for the construction of its headquarters near 
Union Station.
  In 2007, after moving into headquarters, the SEC shuffled its 
employees to different office space at a cost of over $3 million 
without any cost-benefit analysis or justifiable explanation.
  In 2010, the SEC conducted a deeply flawed analysis to justify the 
need to lease 900,000 square feet and to commit over $500 million over 
10 years, overestimating its space needs by over 300 percent. In 
addition, the SEC failed to provide complete and accurate information 
and prepared a faulty and backdated justification and approval after it 
had already signed the lease.
  In August 2016, the General Services Administration and the SEC 
entered into an occupancy agreement to authorize GSA to secure a new 
15-year lease.
  In December 2016, GSA, with the approval of SEC, submitted a 
prospectus to Congress for approximately 1.3 million square feet, which 
Congress approved in 2018.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 2 
minutes to the gentlewoman.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me more 
time.
  By July 2019, GSA had received final bids, resolved all protests, and 
even selected a final bidder. A month later, the SEC canceled the 
occupancy agreement, citing concerns about the value of the purchase 
option, which SEC refused to document to Congress. The SEC effectively 
vetoed the entire 3-year procurement process despite not having the 
authority or funding to exercise the purchase option without GSA's 
involvement.
  Finally, after much back and forth between the two agencies, GSA 
entered into a lease agreement for a new SEC headquarters in September 
2021. The SEC says it will continue to have GSA do its leasing in the 
future, but the SEC's history of egregious leasing conduct, having 
squandered hundreds of millions of dollars, makes this bill necessary.
  These public blunders also risk undermining the reputation of GSA and 
the Federal Government among developers and building owners who 
participate in Federal lease procurements. The threat of uncertainty 
ultimately drives up the cost of all GSA real estate procurements.
  It is time for Congress to return the SEC's leasing authority to GSA, 
the Federal Government's civilian real estate arm. As the SEC has 
demonstrated over three decades, it is incredibly inefficient, 
wasteful, and redundant to have the SEC involved in real estate 
procurements when GSA exists for that very reason.

  Like other Federal agencies, the SEC will continue to have input with 
the GSA and involvement in the real estate decision-making process, but 
GSA would have the ultimate authority.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to 
return the SEC's leasing authority to the GSA, the Federal Government's 
civilian real estate arm. This legislation would do just that.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time to close.
  H.R. 388 ensures that the SEC is going to work with the GSA on 
leasing to improve oversight, reduce costs, protect taxpayers against 
wasteful spending, and minimize Anti-Deficiency Act violations in the 
future.

[[Page H299]]

  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 388.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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