Barletta Bill to Build on $3 Billion in Federal Buildings Savings

Press Release

Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today successfully guided his legislation to save taxpayers billions of additional dollars by reforming the management of federal office space and real estate through the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Barletta's H.R. 4487, the Public Buildings Reform and Savings Act of 2016, also increases accountability and oversight of the agency responsible for securing and protecting thousands of federal buildings. The committee approved the legislation unanimously and moved it onto the House floor for consideration.

Barletta's efforts already have saved taxpayers nearly $3 billion since he became chairman of the committee's Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee in 2013. In his role as chairman, he has held numerous hearings in Washington, DC and different regions of the country, providing oversight and holding federal bureaucrats at the General Services Administration (GSA) accountable for their use of office space and taxpayer resources.

"In the next five years, half of all federal GSA leases, or 100 million square feet of space, will expire," Barletta said. "Since last congress, we have worked to reduce the federal footprint through consolidating space and improving space utilization. And through those efforts, we have saved more than $2.9 billion dollars. With the large number of leases expiring in the near future, we have a good opportunity to save even more."

To put the numbers into better perspective, 100 million square feet of office space equates to more than 46 Empire State Buildings worth of office leases that are about to expire. With this in mind, the legislation reforms the GSA, enabling the agency to better facilitate consolidations, reduce space, and negotiate the best possible office space lease deals to save billions of dollars. The bill also strengthens authorities of the Federal Protective Service in order to improve security at Federal buildings.

"To take advantage of this opportunity, our bill establishes a temporary leasing pilot program," Barletta said. "This will allow GSA to streamline the leasing process to work through these expiring leases more quickly and lock in good deals for the long-term. In addition to these reforms, I am pleased we were able to include provisions that will improve building security by clarifying requirements related to the training and accountability of the Federal Protective Service."

Honoring Peace Officers and Firefighters

Barletta also shepherded through the committee two resolutions that honored firefighters and law enforcement officers, one of which was his own legislation that authorizes the use of the grounds of the U.S. Capitol for the 35th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band Exhibition. House Continuing Resolution 117, authored by Barletta, reserves the use of the Capitol grounds to honor peace officers, marking the beginning of the annual "Police Week" activities around Washington, DC. House Continuing Resolution 120, authored by Rep. Peter King, NY-2, authorizes the use of the U.S. Capitol grounds for the 3rd Annual Fallen Firefighters Congressional Flag Presentation Ceremony.

"It is an honor to be able to set aside the use of the U.S. Capitol grounds to honor fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters," Barletta said. "They risk their lives every day to protect us, and we honor the memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice."

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