FOCUS Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6260) to provide for certain reviews of the use and safety of Federal buildings, 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. 6260, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, first, I thank the bill's sponsor, the gentlewoman from Oregon (Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer), for her leadership on H.R. 6260, the FOCUS Act.

The gentlewoman is a remarkable Member of Congress. She is hardworking, diligent, and smart as a whip. H.R. 6260 is just one of the many examples of her leadership that she has blessed the 118th with.

Specifically, the FOCUS Act increases transparency and oversight. It does that by implementing a number of measures that increase the information that the General Services Administration provides to Congress that is going to give us a better opportunity to strengthen oversight of Federal space and public building projects.

More specifically, this bill would ensure Congress is notified if the costs for authorized GSA projects change by more than 5 percent.

We have all seen, I suspect, outside of government how often cost overruns have been happening in the broader economy and what kind of costs and confusion they can impose. This bill would help us get better data on what is going on with government projects, and it would require GSA to include in its new project proposals more details on space utilization rates and ensures GSA's tenant agencies have information on other agencies nearby to support consolidation of space.

I think this has taken on renewed importance as we have seen additional studies about the low occupancy rates that we continue to see within a number of GSA-managed buildings.

This bill would also require GSA to collect data and report on criminal activity that may be impacting public safety in and around public buildings.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer).

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

So often our attention is pulled to the massive issues, the sexy fights that sometimes divide this Chamber. The bill before us, Mr. Speaker, of course, is not that. It is commonsense legislation. It is the kind of meat and potatoes, blocking and tackling legislation that so many Americans, I think, are hungry for. It is a data-driven proposal.

We heard from Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer that 17 of 24 buildings in the study that she cited were dramatically underutilized. This is an opportunity for good managers within the GSA and good managers within Congress to use the data that her bill would provide to make better decisions. What a delightful outcome that would be.

As we have discussed, this bill would increase transparency, strengthen accountability, assist the committee in its oversight of Federal space utilization, and help us increase safety at our public buildings.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6260, as amended. H.R. 6260, the Federal Oversight of Construction Use and Safety Act, introduced by Representative Chavez-DeRemer, makes a good faith effort at reducing the costs of the General Service Administration's capital projects.

The bill requires GSA to notify the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works--GSA's congressional authorizers--when GSA construction or renovation project costs increase or decrease by 5 percent. It also requires GSA to submit an amended prospectus to congressional authorizers when project costs increase or decrease by more than 10 percent.

The FOCUS Act requires GSA to collect data from tenants about safety incidents in and around public buildings and submit that data to congressional authorizers.

It requires GSA to include utilization and occupancy data and prospectuses submitted to congressional authorizers. Additionally, the bill requires GSA to share location information between Federal agencies in the same geographical area to facilitate opportunities for space sharing and consolidations.

This bill also requires GSA to notify congressional authorizers when project milestones are accomplished, such as the solicitation and award of design services, the completion of any actions required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and when the project is completed.

Finally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to require the use of special spaces, such as fitness centers and conference centers, in Federal buildings.

With strong provisions like these, this bill will likely help reduce the costs of GSA capital projects.

I support H.R. 6260, as amended, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6260, the Federal Oversight of Construction Use and Safety Act, introduced by my colleague, Representative Chavez-DeRemer, makes a good faith effort at reducing the costs of GSA's capital projects.

I support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the FOCUS Act, a bill that makes much-needed reforms to the Federal Government's real estate practices.

With our national debt at $34 trillion and rising, it is our duty as lawmakers to root out wasteful spending and restore fiscal responsibility.

Recently, the Government Accountability Office reviewed 24 Federal agencies to analyze office space usage. The study found that of the 24 offices reviewed, 17 of the agencies used just 25 percent or less of the building's capacity.

It is clear that office space utilization has decreased dramatically in both the public and private sectors. Many companies have adjusted by downsizing or selling office space to save money.

As a small business owner myself, consolidating office space to reduce costs would be a straightforward, sensible decision to make.

Unfortunately, we often see the bureaucracy treat Americans' tax dollars like monopoly money. We throw it around. The FOCUS Act would change

that and, by promoting consolidation, ensure taxpayer money isn't being wasted on unused real estate.

Transparency leads to accountability, and that is why this bill also requires Congress to be notified of significant increases in rent payments.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense proposal to rein in unnecessary spending and improve transparency in Federal real estate practices.