[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 43 (Monday, March 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H1069-H1070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PUBLIC BUILDINGS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2023
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 6254) to direct the Comptroller General of the United States
to conduct a review on the Public Buildings Service, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6254
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 ``Public Buildings
Accountability Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS SERVICE.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct a review of the Public Buildings Service and submit
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 containing the results of
such review, including--
(1) a review of the administration and management of all
Public Buildings Service real estate programs and activities,
including--
(A) a review and accounting of the number of employees and
contract workers, including functions and the sources of
funding (for example building operations, reimbursable work,
project-specific funding) categorized by region and
organizational, management, and oversight structure within
the Public Building Service, including identification of
components, programs, and reporting structures;
(B) an accounting of in-person attendance by employee
category and function;
(C) an analysis, trends, and comparisons of staffing
numbers and associated costs and other administrative costs
over the 10 years preceding the review; and
(D) an analysis of the effectiveness of organizational
structure, management, and oversight in carrying out the
mission of the Public Buildings Service; and
(2) a review of the building operations account of the
Federal Buildings Fund established by section 592 of title
40, United States Code, including activities and costs
associated with conferences, training, and travel and
transportation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
General Leave
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 6254.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 6254 directs the Government Accountability Office
to review the General Services Administration's Public Building Service
personnel structure, including staffing trends, work locations, and
organizational structure.
GSA's Public Building Service administrative budget, including
staffing, is paid for out of the Federal Buildings Fund. Because it is
buried in a larger fund, it is difficult to track and evaluate the
Public Buildings Service workforce and its management to conduct
appropriate oversight.
This bill would seek to address that issue, increasing transparency
and, ultimately, greater oversight.
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden)
for introducing H.R. 6254, the Public Buildings Accountability Act of
2023, and for his leadership on this important issue.
Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this Public Buildings
Accountability Act of 2023, H.R. 6254, which directs the GAO to review
the administration and management of GSA's real estate programs,
activities, funding, and staffing.
Information and data are essential for Congress to conduct proper
oversight of the agencies under its jurisdiction. Having GAO do an
independent analysis of the efficacy of the GSA's operations will help
the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee better evaluate GSA
authorization requests.
However, GAO must work with the Department of Homeland Security's
Interagency Security Committee to ensure that security concerns for the
employees and buildings are addressed.
[[Page H1070]]
{time} 1600
I recommend that GAO, as they are drafting the parameters of the
study, ensure that information that could impact the security of
Federal employees and Federal facilities is protected.
Madam Speaker, I support the legislation, I urge my colleagues to do
the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden), to speak on his bill.
Mr. VAN ORDEN. Madam Speaker, the work-from-home standard for Federal
employees which the Biden administration has empowered has enabled an
already overcompensated Federal bureaucracy to continue to not show up
for work and leave the taxpayers on the hook for empty, unused Federal
office space across the country.
Back in July, I asked the Commissioner of the Public Buildings
Services a simple question during a roundtable: How many of your
employees are actually at work today?
She was incapable of answering that.
Three months later I asked her exactly the same question during a
committee hearing chaired by Mr. Perry, and she was still incapable of
answering that question.
Their truancy has led to possibly the worst customer service of any
Federal agency, and that is an incredibly low standard to fail to meet.
From my own personal experience, it took over a month to get a single
phone line in my public building as a Member of Congress, and we wound
up moving my office out of the public space because of their inability
to perform customer service functions. I had the luxury of doing that
as a Member of Congress. Other members of the United States Government
do not have that same luxury.
This is just not that hard. As an Active Duty Navy SEAL, I managed
military maneuvers on three continents simultaneously. I could tell
you, Madam Speaker, within a 10-meter square where each one of those
individuals was 24 hours a day. So this simply is not that difficult to
do.
I am incredibly proud and pleased that this committee is focusing on
legislation to help ensure that Federal agencies are using the office
space they are assigned and selling the space they are not, saving
taxpayer dollars.
The GSA currently manages over 370 million square feet of owned and
leased assets, and yet they have no idea how much of this space is
truly occupied. Approximately 75 percent of building space in
Washington, D.C., is not occupied, but, unfortunately, we can't
actually get a square footage from the GSA.
I introduced the Public Buildings Accountability Act of 2023 to
enforce transparency and accountability within the public buildings
service to do just that.
H.R. 6254 will shed light on the effectiveness of the Public
Buildings Service staffing structure and funding within the GSA by
providing information to enhance the committee's ongoing oversight work
to maximize the return of Federal employees to in-person work.
These reports will provide greater clarity to PBS' funding needs and
ensure the responsible use of hardworking taxpayers' dollars
Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Perry very much for his patience in
getting this through and for our counterparts on the other side of the
aisle for participating in this incredibly important legislation.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I am
prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COHEN. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. PERRY. I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee.
Mr. COHEN. Do you think this could be expanded in some way to show
the effects of the Capitals and the Wizards moving to Virginia and the
effect that will have on properties in downtown D.C., and the
opportunities to have good restaurants and good commerce in downtown
Washington?
Mr. PERRY. I am not sure that that one particular singular focus
should be an amendment or something like that, but as a general theme,
I don't know that the committee would mind. We could take a look at
that kind of activity and the effects.
Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
Madam Speaker, in closing, we support the bill. Information and data
are essential for Congress to conduct proper oversight of the agencies
under its jurisdiction, even those peripheral to its jurisdiction like
the Capital One Arena.
Madam Speaker, this bill will provide Congress with information
needed in its oversight of the General Services Administration. I
support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Again, Madam Speaker, this bill will improve transparency and
oversight of GSA's Public Buildings Service, and its staffing
management structure.
Further, H.R. 6254 will inform the committee's oversight efforts to
maximize the return of Federal employees to in-person work. I do urge
support for this.
I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden) for offering
this and to acknowledge his strident and outspoken work on the behalf
of constituents, otherwise known as our bosses, who demand and deserve
an answer when they call these folks who work for us and work for them.
I thank him for his diligence and dogged determination.
Madam Speaker, I, again, urge support, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6254.
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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