[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 199 (Monday, December 4, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H6086-H6087]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SALE OF WEBSTER SCHOOL

  Mr. KEAN of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 4688) to direct the Administrator of General 
Services to sell the property known as the Webster School.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4688

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SALE OF WEBSTER SCHOOL.

       (a) Sale.--Not later than December 31, 2025, the 
     Administrator of General Services shall sell the property 
     described in subsection (b) at fair market value and at 
     highest and best use.
       (b) Property Described.--The property described in this 
     subsection is property located in the District of Columbia 
     generally consisting of Lot 822 of Square 375 at 940 H Street 
     Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia, including the 
     building known as the Webster School, subject to survey and 
     as determined by the Administrator of General Services.
       (c) Treatment of Net Proceeds; Future Appropriation.--Any 
     net proceeds received from the sale under this section shall 
     be paid into an account in the Federal Buildings Fund 
     established under section 592 of title 40, United States 
     Code. Upon deposit, the net proceeds from the sale may be 
     expended only subject to a specific future appropriation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Kean) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. KEAN of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that

[[Page H6087]]

all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend 
their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on H.R. 
4688.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KEAN of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Delegate Holmes Norton and the Economic 
Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee 
Chairman Perry for their leadership on this bill to shed wasted space 
in the Federal Government's real estate portfolio.
  H.R. 4688 directs the General Services Administration to sell the 
vacant Webster School building in downtown Washington, D.C.
  The Webster School was originally purchased by GSA at the request of 
the Secret Service in 2003. However, for 20 years, no plans or funding 
have been secured for its Federal use and the building sits vacant, in 
disrepair in the middle of downtown D.C.
  It makes no sense for taxpayers to pay for buildings that have never 
been occupied and have no real use or benefit.
  I was pleased to see, after the committee's passage of H.R. 4688 in 
July, that GSA notified Congress of its intent to dispose of the 
Webster School, along with 22 other unneeded properties across the 
country.
  However, it is important that we pass this bill to ensure that the 
property is actually sold and sold for the highest market value.
  Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, this bill, which I introduced with the Economic 
Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee 
Chair, Scott Perry, would direct the General Services Administration to 
sell the Federal property known as the   Daniel Webster School in the 
District of Columbia for fair market value by December 31st, 2025.
  Built in 1882, the Daniel Webster School, a red brick, three-story 
building has been used for a variety of purposes over the years, 
however, since the 1980s, the building which is located in downtown 
D.C. has been vacant and has fallen into disrepair.
  The General Services Administration purchased the Webster School 20 
years ago, yet the school remains unoccupied, draining the General 
Service Administration's resources for decades. This bill would return 
the site to productive use.
  During my service in Congress, I have enacted bipartisan bills to 
transfer unused and underused Federal land in D.C. to the D.C. 
government or the private sector to redevelop neighborhoods and to 
generate tax revenue.
  This includes the southeast and southwest waterfronts. My hope is to 
see the Daniel Webster School similarly reactivated. The sale provision 
in this bill is the same as the sale provision in the bill enacted in 
2016 that directed the General Services Administration to sell the 
general property in D.C. known as the Cotton Annex, which is now being 
converted into housing.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Perry for his partnership on this 
bill. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. KEAN of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KEAN of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, this bill is a small, but necessary step 
in the rightsizing of the Federal real estate portfolio.
  The Federal real estate portfolio has far too much empty space as it 
is, and we should not hold onto known empty buildings at the taxpayers' 
expense.
  Madam 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 New Jersey (Mr. Kean) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4688.
  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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