Standard Speaker - Barletta Continues Search to Save Money

News Article

By Kelly Monitz

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-11, continues to work toward shrinking the federal footprint to save taxpayers' money by seeking lower lease rates through long-term agreements, reconfiguring office space instead of building new and moving other agencies into smaller, more cost-efficient buildings and complexes.

So far, these changes saved nearly $2 billion in taxpayer money, but even more can be saved as leases expire on more than a quarter of the federal government's inventory in the next five years, he said.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save billions," said Barletta, who chairs the subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.

With the real estate market in a downward cycle, the federal government can take advantage of lower lease rates and lock them in with long-term lease agreements, he said.

Some agencies can shift from a leased space into smaller spaces that the government already owns, Barletta said. These agencies aren't always willing to move, but the federal government can't continue to operate as it has in the past, he said.

"They are reluctant," Barletta said. "But they realize that I'm serious and I'm not taking no for an answer."

He visited one courthouse that had 1,200 square feet of space per employee -- the size of the average American home, he said.

"That's unacceptable," Barletta said.

President Barack Obama is on board with reducing the federal footprint and so is the General Services Administration, which handles the leases and buildings, Barletta said.

A plan to reconfigure a courthouse in San Jose, California, instead of building a new one, will save $213 million, he said. Barletta admits a reconfiguration plan isn't easy, but the alternative would be more costly to taxpayers, he said.

"Some agencies have been reluctant. But other agencies have been terrific in realizing that if they spend less on a lease, they'll have more money in their budgets for programs," Barletta said.

The congressman likened the process to the consolidation of fire stations in Hazleton when he was mayor. Instead of spending money on a roof or boiler for different firehouses, the consolidation into a super station allowed firefighters to use that money for training or equipment, he said.

Property owners are willing to offer better rates with the long-term leases and even pay for some of the government's moving costs or costs to reconfigure the spaces, Barletta said.

"It's a buyers' market," he said. "I'm happy we can do this."

Barletta pointed to the FBI's Hoover Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, which is antiquated and vulnerable to an attack. The agency could be moved into a safer and smaller space, reducing the square footage from 3 million to 2 million, he said.

Plus, the Hoover Building's location would be attractive to developers such as the Trumps, who purchased the old post office and are converting it into a five-star hotel, he said. Selling these federal buildings also puts them on tax rolls, generating money, he said.

"I'm excited because it gives me the opportunity to see the results," Barletta said.

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