[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   UTILIZING SPACE EFFICIENTLY AND IMPROVING TECHNOLOGIES ACT OF 2023

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                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 12, 2024

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 6276, the 
Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of 2023.
  Once again, the Republican House Majority has brought forth a bill 
that would accomplish the exact opposite of its claims. This bill would 
create massive inefficiency by forcing the early termination of 
government facility contracts to meet an arbitrary and inflexible 
standard of occupancy. These contract cancellations would incur 
additional costs, result in massive staff relocations that are not paid 
for by this legislation, and severely disrupt the work of federal 
employees who are serving the American public. The end result would be 
a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars.
  Additionally, this legislation would override the work that agencies 
themselves ale already doing to evaluate and update their federal space 
requirements. Instead, H.R. 6276 sets up a biased method of data 
collection that inaccurately assesses the needs of our federal 
workforce. It fails to count field workers--including Border Patrol 
agents, park rangers, and food safety inspectors--as full-time federal 
employees. It would ignore the significant challenges, and costs, 
involved in modernizing and reconfiguring historic buildings to 
increase occupancy levels.
  My Democratic colleagues and I want to work with the federal agencies 
to collect accurate information and to fully understand the individual 
facility needs of each agency. Where opportunities to reduce space or 
improve its utilization exist, the General Services Administration 
already has the authority to act. As agencies adjust to the increased 
use of alternative and hybrid work schedules, they are examining 
opportunities for consolidation and other ways to efficiently and 
effectively achieve their missions. This thoughtful and necessary work 
would be swept aside by a clunky and misguided mandate in the USE IT 
Act.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 6276.

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