Summer in the City – Real Property Gets Hotter

The summer months in Washington, DC are not known as a beehive of activity. As the relentless heat and humidity bears down, most legislators look forward to recess or, at most, a long period of relatively little activity.

That’s why those of us following federal real property are watching with interest to see whether a bi-partisan proposed legislation might find its way into the law books during this typically fallow period.

The Federal Real Property Disposal Pilot Program (S.1667) was introduced in the Senate by Tom Carper (D-DE) on behalf of himself and Tom Coburn (R-OK) on June 20, 2007. The bill was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

This legislation is similar in content to HR 3134, the Federal Real Property Disposal Pilot Program and Management Improvement Act of 2005, which languished upon its introduction in the 109th Congress. This year, however, the impetus to see surplus property disposed of has reached a tipping point.

In the works since at least May, S.1667 was immediately preceded by a report to Congress by OMB, which prompted Senator Coburn to deliver one of his famous sound bites. Coburn is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Finance Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security.

“It is obscene that the value of our government’s vacant or unused properties exceeds the annual Gross domestic Product of half of the nations on earth,” Coburn noted. He added that “something is wrong when Congress asks taxpayers to sacrifice more but does nothing to eliminate an area of waste that is double the size of Afghanistan’s GDP.”

With those kinds of comparisons, it’s little wonder that proposed legislation should follow with the kind of haste not typical of a Washington DC summer.

The pilot program is described in an article in this edition of “Managing Change” titled “Senate Offers Bi-Partisan Pilot Disposal Program”. Where it differs from the House version is in incentives to the affected agencies. Not only are these agencies entitled to 20 percent of sales proceeds of disposed properties, these proceeds are net after reimbursing the agencies for expenses related to the disposition.

All of this is to the good, of course, and we are all hopeful of a speedy adoption of this legislation. It can only help provide some monetary support for the collection, authentication and validation of inventory for the Federal Real Property Profile (FRPP). While a noble first step in assembling a correct and comprehensive inventory of buildings, their condition, use and cost to operate, there are still holes in the available data – an assessment made by the Government Accountability Office, which contributed to real property’s continued presence on the high risk series of areas in government susceptible to waste, fraud and abuse.

It is difficult to say with certainty how accurate the June 15 OMB report to Congress was, being based in large part on data from the FRPP, the accuracy of which is viewed with skepticism in some circles. Now attention is focused on compensating agencies for the work and expense related to the disposal of surplus property – a watershed moment for real property professionals everywhere.

We all remain hopeful that the proceeds from disposal will be directed toward continually refining and improving the FRPP. That way, the next time Senator Coburn weighs in on real property, it will be to hold it up as a model of what can happen when the various branches of government work together for the benefit of the American taxpayer.


David Baxa
President and CEO
VISTA