Overview
- Introduced on Oct. 30, the bill would mandate disposal by sale or long-term lease of a set of underused federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
- The proposal empowers the GSA administrator to choose a sale or a ground lease of up to 99 years and directs the agency to identify up to 20 additional low-utilization properties for disposal each year through 2028.
- The six named sites include Labor’s Frances Perkins Building, Energy’s James V. Forrestal Building, OPM’s Theodore Roosevelt Building, HUD’s Robert C. Weaver Building, USDA’s South Building, and HHS’s Hubert H. Humphrey Building.
- Proceeds would be used for agency relocations and deficit reduction, with certain requirements such as National Environmental Policy Act reviews waived to speed transactions.
- Ernst cites thousands of vacant or largely empty federal properties and multi‑billion‑dollar maintenance backlogs as justification, while some assets like HUD’s HQ and USDA’s South Building are already being shed under ongoing GSA and agency efforts.