Securities and Exchange Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1468) to amend title 40, United States Code, to eliminate the leasing authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1468, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the Securities and Exchange Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act, which I introduced, will revoke the independent real estate leasing authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission and direct the Government Accountability Office to update its 2016 report on independent real estate leasing authority in the Federal Government. While a number of Federal agencies have independent leasing authority, the SEC has a history of egregious real estate practices.

In 2005, the SEC disclosed that it had unbudgeted costs of approximately $48 million for the construction of its headquarters near Union Station. In

2007, after moving into the headquarters, the SEC shuffled its employees to different office space at a cost of over $3 million without any cost-benefit analysis or justifiable explanation.

In 2010, the SEC conducted a deeply flawed analysis to justify the need to lease 900,000 square feet and to commit over $500 million over 10 years, overestimating its space needs by over 300 percent. In addition, the SEC failed to provide complete and accurate information and prepared a faulty and backdated justification and approval after it had already signed the lease.

In August 2016, the General Services Administration and the SEC entered into an occupancy agreement to authorize the GSA to secure a new 15-year lease. In December 2016, the GSA, with the approval of the SEC, submitted a prospectus to Congress for approximately 1.3 million square feet, which Congress approved in 2018. By July 2019, the GSA had received final bids, resolved all protests, and even selected a final bidder. A month later, the SEC canceled the occupancy agreement, citing concerns about the value of the purchase option, which the SEC refused to document to Congress. The SEC effectively vetoed the entire 3-year procurement process, despite not having the authority or funding to exercise the purchase option without the GSA's involvement.

Finally, after much back and forth between the two agencies, the GSA entered into a lease for a new SEC headquarters in September 2021. The SEC says it will continue to have the GSA do its leasing in the future, but the SEC's history of egregious leasing conduct, having squandered hundreds of millions of dollars, makes this bill necessary.

These public blunders also risk undermining the reputation of the GSA and the Federal Government among the developers and building owners that participate in Federal lease procurements and ultimately driving up the costs of all GSA real estate procurement due to the threat of uncertainty.

It is time for Congress to return the SEC's leasing authority to the GSA, the Federal Government's civilian real estate arm. As the SEC has demonstrated over three decades, it is incredibly inefficient, wasteful, and redundant to have the SEC involved in real estate procurements when the GSA exists for that very reason. Like other Federal agencies, the SEC would continue to have input and involvement in the real estate decision-making process, but the GSA will have the ultimate authority.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1468, as the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia indicated, helps to restore the SEC's leasing authority back to the confines of the General Services Administration. It ensures that we have a uniform approach to leasing space in Federal agencies.

I thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia for her perseverance on this bill. I know this has been a priority of hers for a very long period of time. But I want to give you a little bit of background.

In 2012, the SEC leased approximately 1.4 million square feet of office space for $566 million. I want to say that again. The SEC leased 1.4 million square feet of office space for $566 million, in violation of the law. They exceeded their authority when they entered into this lease.

When there was Republican leadership, there was an investigation that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure did over the SEC's actions. The SEC Inspector General similarly commissioned an investigation.

The conclusion of these investigations found that not only did the Securities and Exchange Commission exceed their authority in that lease, but this was a trend. They had a history of mismanagement of their leasing authority.

Unfortunately, recent actions by the SEC during the GSA's procurement of leased space for the SEC indicates that they may be returning back to their old ways.

I want to say again, I commend the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia, ensuring that we have a uniform approach, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are being managed in a way that we can all be proud of, respecting the people who have worked hard for those dollars, and we don't need to be mismanaging them.

The bill will ensure that the Securities and Exchange Commission, like other Federal agencies, uses the GSA, the General Services Administration, for its space needs and provide more safeguards for taxpayer dollars.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the legislation, and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, H.R. 1468 will better protect taxpayer money by ensuring the SEC works with the General Services Administration on leasing to improve oversight, reduce costs, and minimize Antideficiency Act violations in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I was participating in a Presidential Delegation to the Republic of Kenya and absent during the time of votes. Had I been present, I would have voted:

YEA on Roll Call No. 424, H. Res. 1339, on Ordering the Previous Question;

YEA on Roll Call No. 425, H. Res. 1339, on Agreeing to the Resolution;

YEA on Roll Call No. 426, Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass Certain Bills (H.R. 1468, S. 4205, H.R. 7939, H.R. 7846, H.R. 7735, H.R. 5916, H.R. 8260, and H.R. 5865);

YEA on Roll Call No. 427, H.R. 884, the National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act;

YEA on Roll Call No. 428, H.R. 5774, the Expediting Disaster Recovery Act;

YEA on Roll Call No. 429, S. 2293, the Crew Act; and

YEA on Roll Call No. 430, S. 442, the BRIGHT Act.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Baird (Bucshon)

Bass (Correa)

Bush (Bowman)

Cardenas (Correa)

Conway (Valadao)

DeSaulnier (Beyer)

Dingell (Kuster)

Fallon (Nehls)

Gaetz (Cawthorn)

Higgins (NY) (Pallone)

Johnson (TX) (Jeffries)

Jones (Beyer)

Kirkpatrick (Pallone)

Lawrence (Beatty)

Lawson (FL) (Evans)

Levin (MI) (Correa)

McEachin (Beyer)

Miller (WV)

(Kim (CA))

Moore (WI) (Beyer)

Newman (Beyer)

Payne (Pallone)

Pingree (Kuster)

Rice (NY) (Deutch)

Schiff (Deutch)

Schrader (Correa)

Scott (VA) (Beyer)

Scott, Austin (Cammack)

Stansbury (Pallone)

Stevens (Kuster)

Tlaib (Bowman)

Upton (Katko)

Wexton (Beyer)

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 11 of House Resolution 1339, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bills: H.R. 1468, S. 4205, H.R. 7939, H.R. 7846, H.R. 7735, H.R. 5916, H.R. 8260, and H.R. 5865.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.