Because the U.S. government’s real estate portfolio includes nearly 7,700 vacant buildings, according to U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), she has proposed legislation to sell off six pieces of Washington, D.C., real estate, as well as the subsequent sale of 20 buildings every year to help generate revenue and avoid deferred maintenance costs.
Sen. Ernst on Oct. 30 sponsored the Disposing of Inactive Structures and Properties by Offering for Sale And Lease (DISPOSAL) Act, S. 3091, to require the administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to dispose of certain federal buildings, according to the text of the bill.
“For too long, the entrenched bureaucracy has used red tape to prevent these ghost towns from being sold off,” Sen. Ernst said. “My DISPOSAL Act immediately lists six prime pieces of D.C. real estate on the auction block and slashes through pointless regulations to fast-track the sale of the government’s graveyard of lifeless real estate to generate hundreds of millions of dollars and save taxpayers billions.”
Maintaining these office spaces is costly to taxpayers, according to an August 2024 GSA report, which says the government pays more than $81 million annually to maintain underutilized offices, while deferred maintenance exceeds $6 billion and could grow to $20 billion in five years.
If enacted, S. 3091 would call for the disposition of six D.C.-located buildings: The Frances Perkins Federal Building; the James V. Forrestal Building; the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building; the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building; the Department of Agriculture South Building; and the Hubert H. Humphrey Federal Building.
According to the bill’s text, the buildings would either be sold for fair market value, or the government would enter into a ground lease with a term of up to 99 years, among other provisions in the bill.
The measure is under consideration by the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.