Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I originally planned on offering an amendment to cut the General Services Administration's budget to force it to sell unneeded Federal properties. My purpose was to get GSA's attention and compel it to stop wasting billions of dollars on Federal buildings we no longer need or barely use. However, through this colloquy, I hope our committees can make a commitment to work together and accomplish this same goal. Just last week, I held my subcommittee's first hearing in a freezing cold, vacant Federal building on Pennsylvania Avenue. The building sits on one of the most famous streets in America, within walking distance of the U.S. Capitol and the White House. Yet it has been empty for over a decade and loses over $6 million in taxpayer money each year. I am sad to say there are buildings like this across the entire Nation. According to GAO, Federal agencies reported over 45,000 underutilized buildings that cost $1.66 billion annually to operate and maintain. {time} 1450 At GSA's current rate of disposal, it will take over 800 years to get rid of excess and surplus properties. Our Nation is facing financial distress, and this wasteful spending must stop. GSA needs to get serious about selling wasteful properties. To date, GSA has failed to provide my office with detailed information about the Federal Government's inventory of properties.…”