Bill to Eliminate Wasteful Spending on Underused Federal Properties Passes House

Statement

On Tuesday, the House passed legislation that will save billions of taxpayer dollars by eliminating wasteful spending on underused properties owned by the federal government. In Fiscal Year 2009 alone, the federal government spent $1.7 billion to operate and maintain underused buildings. Just as the government reconsiders our nation's military needs every few years through the BRAC process, H.R. 1734, the Civilian Property Realignment Act establishes a commission to review current federal property holdings and make recommendations to reduce the federal building inventory. To ensure that savings are realized quickly, the bill requires the commission to recommend the sale of at least $500 million worth of high value assets in their first 180 days of its establishment. The Office of Management and Budget has estimated that H.R. 1734 could generate as much as $15 billion from the sale of federal properties that are underutilized, with the potential for billions more in future savings that will be generated from having fewer properties to maintain. Congressman Miller strongly supported this legislation to make our government more efficient and prevent wasteful spending.

Source