[House Report 118-412]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress    }                                      {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                      {     118-412

======================================================================



 
              PUBLIC BUILDINGS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2023

                                _______
                                

 March 6, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Graves of Missouri, from the Committee on Transportation and 
                Infrastructure, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 6254]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred 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, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose of Legislation...........................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Legislative History and Consideration............................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations.................     3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     4
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Preemption Clarification.........................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5

                         PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION

    The purpose of H.R. 6254 is to direct the Comptroller 
General of the United States to conduct a review on the Public 
Buildings Service, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The General Service Administration's (GSA's) Public 
Buildings Service (PBS) manages approximately 8,800 Federally 
owned and leased assets, totaling over 370 million square feet, 
and 500 historic buildings.\1\ Of the 370 million square feet, 
181 million is in leased space, which is comprised of over 
6,659 buildings and costs more than six billion dollars per 
year.\2\
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    \1\Press Release, GSA, Nina M. Albert Appointed Commissioner of 
GSA's Public Buildings Service, (July 6, 2021), available at https://
www.gsa.gov/about-us/newsroom/news-releases/nina-m-albert-appointed-
commissioner-of-gsas-public-buildings-service-07062021.
    \2\GSA, Inventory of GSA Owned and Leased Properties, (last 
reviewed Sept. 9, 2022), available at https://www.gsa.gov/tools-
overview/buildings-and-real-estate-tools/inventory-of-gsa-owned-and-
leased-properties.
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    The operations and staffing of PBS is funded out of GSA's 
Federal Buildings Fund (FBF) building operations account.\3\ 
Congress established the FBF in 1972 to finance new 
construction, alterations and repairs, building maintenance, 
and commercial lease payments, as well as the PBS.\4\ The FBF 
is largely funded by GSA charging commercially equivalent rent 
to its Federal tenant agencies.\5\ While the FBF is funded 
through agency rent payments to GSA, it is not a true revolving 
loan fund.\6\ The funds are made available via annual 
appropriations bills.\7\ For fiscal year (FY) 2023, $2.98 
billion was appropriated for building operations within the 
FBF; however, there is little transparency with regards to 
details and oversight of staffing funded through this 
account.\8\
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    \3\40 U.S.C. Sec. 592.
    \4\Federal Buildings Fund and the User Charges Paid into the Fund 
by Federal Agencies: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Environment and 
Public Works, 96th Cong. (1979) (Testimony of Joseph P. Normile, 
Associate Director, Logistics and Communications Division, GAO), 
available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/110395.pdf.
    \5\GSA, Federal Buildings Fund, (Feb. 1, 2021), available at 
https://www.gsa.gov/reference/reports/budget-performance/annual-
reports/2020-agency-financial-report/managements-discussion-and-
analysis/financial-statements-summary-and-analysis/federal-buildings-
fund.
    \6\See 40 U.S.C. Sec. 592(c)(1).
    \7\Id.
    \8\Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Pub. L. No. 117-328, 136 
Stat. 4459.
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                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of rule XIII, clause 3(c)(6)(A) of the 
118th Congress--
    On July 13, 2023, the Subcommittee on Economic Development, 
Public Buildings, and Emergency Management of the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing entitled, 
``When the Lights Are On but No One's Home: An Examination of 
Federal Office Space Utilization.'' The hearing discussed 
Federal real estate, including office space utilization. The 
Subcommittee received testimony from Ms. Nina Albert, 
Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, GSA; and Mr. David 
Marroni, Acting Director, Physical Infrastructure, Government 
Accountability Office (GAO).

                 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION

    H.R. 6254 was introduced in the United States House of 
Representatives on November 7, 2023, by Representative Derrick 
Van Orden of Wisconsin, and referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure. Within the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, H.R. 6254 was referred to 
the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and 
Emergency Management. The Subcommittee on Economic Development, 
Public Buildings, and Emergency Management was discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 6254 on November 15, 2023.
    The Committee considered H.R. 6254 on November 15, 2023, 
and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a 
favorable recommendation, without amendment, by voice vote.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to include the 
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote 
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the 
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for 
and against.
    No recorded votes were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 6254.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

               NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the 
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is 
included in this report.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6254, as amended, 
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    Within one year of enactment, H.R. 6254 would direct the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the Public 
Buildings Service. The report would include a review and 
accounting of the Public Buildings Service's personnel, in-
person attendance, and historical staffing numbers and costs. 
The bill also would require GAO to analyze the effectiveness of 
the Public Building Service's organizational structure and 
review the building operations account of the Federal Building 
Fund.
    Based on the cost of similar reports, CBO estimates that 
implementing the bill would cost less than $500,000 over the 
2024-2028 period. Any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                    PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to 
evaluate PBS' staffing structure, organizational effectiveness 
and financial performance.

                    DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision 
of H.R. 6254 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
Federal government known to be duplicative of another Federal 
program, a program that was included in any report from the 
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

   CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF 
                                BENEFITS

    In compliance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the Rule 
XXI.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (Public Law 104-4).

                        PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee finds that H.R. 6254 does not 
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the definition of Section 
5(b) of the appendix to Title 5, United States Code, are 
created by this legislation.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides the Act may be cited as the ``Public 
Buildings Accountability Act of 2023''.

Section 2. Report on Public Buildings Service

    This section requires GAO to conduct a review of PBS and 
submit a report to Congress on the effectiveness of PBS' 
organizational structure, management, and oversight in carrying 
out its mission. GAO is also directed to include in the report 
the number of PBS employees and contract workers, including 
their functions and the sources of funding for their positions, 
categorizing these workers by region, and organizational, 
management, and oversight structure within PBS. The report is 
also to include an analysis of staffing numbers and associated 
costs over the 10 years preceding the review.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    As reported by the Committee, H.R. 6254 makes no changes in 
existing law.

                                  [all]