Political Quotes

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4487, as amended, includes reforms that will reduce the cost of Federal real estate and improve Federal building security. I am pleased to be the sponsor of this important legislation. I want to thank Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and our subcommittee Ranking Member Carson for working with me on crafting this important legislation. The Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a series of hearings, roundtables, and listening sessions to examine the General Services Administration's lease portfolio. What we found was, within 5 years, half of all GSA leases will expire. To give some perspective on how much space that represents, that is 100 million square feet of space or 32 new World Trade Centers in New York. More than half of GSA's total real estate inventory is in commercial leased space, costing the taxpayer more than $5.5 billion each year. How we replace these leases has a huge impact on the costs to the taxpayer. For larger leases and projects requiring committee authorization, we have already taken steps to reduce the cost of Federal real estate to the taxpayer. Since last Congress, the committee has worked with GSA to reduce the Federal footprint through consolidating space and improving space utilization.…”