[House Report 118-412]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 118-412
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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.
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