[Senate Report 110-501]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 1079
110th Congress Report
2d Session SENATE 110-501
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OLD POST OFFICE BUILDING REDEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2008
_______
September 24 (legislative day, September 17), 2008.--Ordered to be
printed
_______
Mrs. Boxer, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5001]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was
referred the bill (H.R. 5001) to authorize the Administrator of
General Services to provide for the redevelopment of the Old
Post Office Building located in the District of Columbia,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
H.R. 5001 directs the Administrator of the General Services
Administration (GSA) to proceed with redevelopment of the Old
Post Office Building in Washington, DC in accordance with
existing authorities and consistent with the redevelopment plan
previously approved by the Committee on Environment and Public
Works and the House Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure.
GENERAL STATEMENT AND BACKGROUND
Completed in 1899, the Old Post Office served as the
headquarters of the U.S. Postal Service and the main post
office for our nation's capital. Over the years there have been
multiple efforts to demolish the historic Romanesque building
and redevelop the land on which it sits, but in 1973 the
building was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places. The Old Post Office is home to the Bells of Congress,
which were a present from England on our Nation's Bicentennial.
The building is currently underutilized and the costs to
maintain it far exceed rent payments collected each year. This
legislation directs GSA to enter into a development agreement
to redevelop the Old Post Office Building under terms and
conditions that are beneficial to the Federal Government. The
legislation also authorizes GSA to find replacement leases for
the agencies currently housed in the Old Post Office Building
whose relocation is necessary for redevelopment of the
building.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 designates the short title of the Act as the
``Old Post Office Building Redevelopment Act of 2008''.
Section 2. Old Post Office Building defined
Section 2 defines the Old Post Office Building as the land,
including any improvements and including the Pavilion Annex,
that is located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., in
Washington, DC, and under the jurisdiction, custody, and
control of the General Services Administration.
Section 3. Findings
Section 3 states Congressional findings for the Act.
Congress finds that for almost a decade the Subcommittee on
Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency
Management has expressed considerable concern about the waste
and neglect of the valuable, historic Old Post Office Building.
Congress further finds that, pursuant to P.L. 105-277, GSA was
required to submit a development plan to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives, and the Committees on Appropriations and
Environment and Public Works of the Senate. The Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure approved the plan in May 16,
2001, and the Senate Committees approved the plan on June 15,
2001. In 2004, GSA issued a Request for Expression of Interest
for developing the Old Post Office Building. Congress finds
that the request generated healthy, private sector interest,
but GSA has failed to proceed with implementation of the
approved redevelopment plan. Congress further finds that
redevelopment of the Old Post Office Building will preserve the
historic integrity of this unique and important asset, put it
to its highest and best use, and provide a lucrative financial
return to the Federal Government.
Section 4. Redevelopment of Old Post Office Building
Subsection (a) directs the Administrator of the General
Services to proceed with the redevelopment of the Old Post
Office Building in accordance with existing authorities
available to the Administrator, and consistent with the
redevelopment plan previously approved by the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House and the
Committees on Appropriations and Environment and Public Works
of the Senate.
Subsection (b) authorizes the Administrator to provide
replacement space for the Federal agency tenants currently
housed in the Old Post Office Building, notwithstanding section
3307 of title 40, United States Code.
Section 5. Reporting requirement
Subsection (a) directs the Administrator of General
Services to transmit a report to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public
Works of the Senate, on any proposed redevelopment agreement
related to the Old Post Office Building.
Subsection (b) provides that the report must include a
summary of a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed development
agreement and a description of the material provisions of the
proposed agreement.
Subsection (c) provides that any proposed development
agreement will not become effective until the end of a 30-day
period of continuous session of Congress following the date of
the transmittal of the report to Congress.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
In 1998, Congress passed the Omnibus Consolidated and
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999 (P.L. 105-
277), which required GSA to submit a viable development plan
for the Old Post Office Building before any Federal funds could
be used to convert the space. On December 28, 2000, GSA
submitted the plan for the Old Post Office, as required by P.L.
105-277.
On June 15, 2001, the Chair and Ranking Member of the
Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senators Robert
Smith and Harry Reid respectively, and the Chair and Ranking
Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Treasury and General
Government, Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Byron Dorgan
respectively, sent a letter to GSA giving consent for GSA to
expend such funds as necessary to acquire by purchase the
leasehold rights of the lease at the Old Post Office, if
certain conditions were followed.
On January 16, 2008, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton
introduced H.R. 5001, the `Old Post Office Building
Redevelopment Act of 2008'.
On June 24, 2008, after favorable action by the House
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the U.S.
House of Representatives, the bill was received, read twice and
referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works. The Committee met on September 17, 2008, to consider the
bill. H.R. 5001 was ordered to be reported favorably.
HEARINGS
The Committee did not hold hearings on H.R. 5001 during the
110th Congress.
ROLLCALL VOTES
There were no rollcall votes. The Committee on Environment
and Public Works met to consider H.R. 5001 on September 17,
2008. A quorum of the Committee being present, H.R. 5001 was
reported favorably without amendment by voice vote.
REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT
In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee finds, consistent
with the findings of the Congressional Budget Office, that H.R.
5001 does not create any new private sector mandates as defined
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, nor will it cause any
adverse impact on the personal privacy of individuals.
MANDATES ASSESSMENT
In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Public Law 104-4), the committee finds, in accordance with the
findings of the Congressional Budget Office noted below, that
H.R. 5001 would impose no Federal intergovernmental unfunded
mandates on State, local or tribal governments, and that the
bill contains no new private-sector mandates as defined in
UMRA.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
September 23, 2008.
Hon. Barbara Boxer,
Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Madam Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5001, the Old Post
Office Building Redevelopment Act of 2008.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag.
Enclosure.
H.R. 5001--Old Post Office Building Redevelopment Act of 2008
H.R. 5001 would direct the Administrator of the General
Services Administration (GSA) to reach an agreement with a
private-sector entity to redevelop the Old Post Office Building
(including the Pavilion Annex) located at 1100 Pennsylvania
Avenue in the District of Columbia. CBO estimates that
implementing H.R. 5001 would cost $18 million over the 2009-
2013 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Enacting H.R. 5001 would have no significant net effect on
direct spending and would not affect revenues.
H.R. 5001 would direct GSA to redevelop the Old Post Office
Building in accordance with specific resolutions approved by
the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in 2001.
Those resolutions would require GSA to enter into agreements
with private entities to redevelop the property through
authorities granted in the National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA). That authority provides for the protection of historic
properties and allows federal agencies to lease historic
properties when those assets are not needed for current or
future agency purposes.
Based on information from GSA, CBO anticipates that it
would take about 26 months to develop and solicit proposals,
analyze and rank the responses, and negotiate an agreement with
a developer for the property. Although it is unclear what type
of development would take place, GSA has previously reported
that a hotel is the most likely option, although other options
for the location have included a museum, television studio, or
office building.
According to GSA, the building is currently occupied by
four federal agencies with approximately 450 employees and its
main hall is occupied by about 36 private-sector entities,
including retailers and food vendors. Based on information from
GSA, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5001 would cost about
$18 million over the 2010-2011 period, assuming appropriation
of the necessary amounts to relocate the federal employees
currently occupying the Old Post Office.
In addition, payments by the current retailers and food
court vendors (about $500,000 annually) can be spent by GSA
under the Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act without further
appropriation. Future lease payments following the building's
redevelopment under NHPA also could be spent by GSA under the
Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act. Thus, neither the loss of
receipts from the current vendors nor the collection of the new
receipts from a ground lease following redevelopment would have
any significant net budgetary impact.
H.R. 5001 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
On June 12, 2008, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
5001 as ordered reported by the House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure on May 22, 2008. Both pieces
of legislation are identical as are the estimated costs.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
Section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate
requires the committee to publish changes in existing law made
by the bill as reported. Passage of this bill will make no
changes to existing law.