REPORT ON STATE OF REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO OF GSA

REPORT ON STATE OF REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO OF GSA

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 55 (Tuesday, March 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 24, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2648-H2649] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] REPORT ON STATE OF REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO OF GSA Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6480) to direct the Administrator of General Services to submit a report to Congress on the state of the real estate portfolio of the Public Building Service, and for other purposes. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6480 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. REPORT ON STATE OF REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO OF GSA. (a) In General.--Not later than January 31 of each year, the Administrator of General Services shall 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 on the state of the real estate portfolio of the Public Building Service for the previous calendar year. (b) Contents.--The report under subsection (a) shall include, with respect to the real estate portfolio of the Public Building Service-- (1) the number of leases signed; (2) the number of leases terminated; (3) the total number of leased spaces; (4) the amount of square footage leased; (5) the amount of square footage occupied; (6) the amount of vacant leased space; (7) the number of buildings owned; (8) top customers by square feet and annual rent; (9) completed new construction, major repair and alteration projects; (10) financial indicators that measure and analyze space utilization, operating costs per square foot, cost-avoidance due to building disposals and lease terminations, and deferred maintenance liabilities; (11) which, if any, Federal buildings were disposed of by the Office of Real Property Disposition of the General Services Administration; and (12) General Services Administration and tenant agency plans for relocating Federal agencies housed in federally owned space that the General Services Administration plans to dispose of and leased space that the General Services Administration has not renewed, including how the relocations will be paid for and whether or not the agency tenant requested the relocations. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Taylor) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio. General Leave Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on H.R. 6480. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Ohio? There was no objection. Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6480 directs the Administrator of General Services to submit a report to Congress on the state of the real estate portfolio of GSA's Public Buildings Service. I thank the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management ranking member, Mr. Stanton, along with the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Perry, for their work on this legislation. H.R. 6480 improves transparency and supports congressional oversight of the GSA's real estate portfolio by directing the GSA to begin reissuing its state of the portfolio report. The GSA used to produce a state of the portfolio report that contained critical and useful information each year. The report provided the taxpayer and Congress with a clear accounting of the GSA's real estate holdings, including a breakdown of costs and liabilities and updates on deferred maintenance. Since the GSA stopped issuing this report nearly one decade ago, the information has become less accessible. This bill will ensure that the GSA reissues these reports to improve congressional oversight and ensure that [[Page H2649]] the GSA is accountable to the American taxpayer. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 6480, legislation introduced by me and cosponsored by Representative Scott Perry. The Federal real estate portfolio is being reshaped at a speed and scale this institution has never seen. Last year, under DOGE, leases were terminated overnight, buildings were emptied, and entire agencies were displaced. Through all of it, Congress was given little information about what was being sold or surrendered. {time} 1540 This should concern every single Member of this Chamber, regardless of political party. This has been a problem under both Democratic and Republican administrations. The GSA used to keep Congress informed. They produced a ``State of the Portfolio'' report, a clear, comprehensive accounting of the Federal real estate footprint. They haven't done so since 2013. Now, in 2026, after an aggressive reshaping of the Federal Government's real estate portfolio, Congress is flying blind. H.R. 6480 turns the lights back on. This bill, introduced by myself and cosponsored by Representative Perry, directs the Administrator of General Services to submit an annual report to Congress on the state of the Federal real estate portfolio: every lease signed and terminated, every square foot leased and occupied, every GSA-owned building disposed of, every plan to relocate Federal agencies, all of it on the record, in front of Congress, accountable to the people of this country. Congress has a constitutional obligation to know what is happening to Federal property that belongs to the American taxpayer. No administration of either party should be making unilateral decisions about the public's assets without this body having full visibility. Mr. Speaker, I support this important bill, H.R. 6480, and urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, this legislation will increase transparency of GSA's real estate holdings and ensure there is greater accountability to the American taxpayer for the management of our Federal real estate portfolio. I urge support of H.R. 6480, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Taylor) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6480. 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. ____________________

Referenced legislation: HR6480, HR6480