To amend title 40, United States Code, to establish an expiration date of certain committee resolutions with respect to leases or projects, and for other purposes.

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

As you heard, H.R. 6316 sets a 5-year expiration on resolutions approving GSA construction, alteration, repair, design, or acquisition projects. This means that if within 5 years of the passage of the resolution GSA has not executed the project, then the authorization is deemed expired.

This has been a concern to Members on both sides of the aisle for years. Similar provisions were included in former T&I Chairman Shuster's Public Buildings Reform and Savings Act of 2016 and former Chairman Barletta's

REAL Reform Act of 2018. Unfortunately, neither of these bills was signed into law.

I hear from the many Federal agencies that I work with that it can be difficult to obtain information from GSA on the status of projects authorized by Congress, especially the construction of new courthouses. Once we authorize an activity, whether it is a leasing activity or construction of a new building, we currently have little access to how, when, and if the project has been executed.

This lack of information became apparent after GSA submitted a prospectus to build a new courthouse in Los Angeles, California, in 2000 as part of its FY 2001 capital investment program. Even though there were already two courthouses in Los Angeles, the Judicial Conference insisted that the L.A. courthouse complex was so short of space for judges that it was the number one space emergency in the country.

GSA submitted a prospectus to build a new courthouse totaling 712,102 gross square feet at a cost of $266 million, and the committee approved it. The design of the building, however, exceeded the congressionally authorized size by 13 courtrooms, 260,000 square feet, and $100 million, and the scope of the project changed so often that GSA eventually just canceled the project in 2006, despite saying it had been an emergency.

Then, in 2011, the courts and GSA announced that they would move forward with a downsized project that would not exceed the size and cost originally authorized by Congress more than 10 years earlier, without providing any notification to Congress.

Some members of the T&I Committee were so concerned about GSA's actions and lack of transparency on the Los Angeles courthouse project that they requested a GAO study of the courthouse construction program and held a series of hearings about GSA's construction of Federal courthouses.

Although Chairmen Shuster and Barletta are no longer with us here in Congress, their concerns, as well as the longtime concerns of my colleague, Congresswoman Norton, are still relevant, and this legislation is more necessary than ever.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation so we can ensure GSA is being a good steward of taxpayer dollars. I thank Chairman Perry for his help in getting this to the floor, and I urge Members to vote in favor of it.

Madam Speaker, I think this is a bill that is worth bragging about. It is not very sexy and probably won't get a lot of press, but it is one of those things that can really make a difference. It will encourage GSA to move forward with needed projects. It will shorten the amount of time it takes to get these projects on the ground. No doubt, it will also save taxpayer dollars.

Madam Speaker, I urge support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6316) to amend title 40, United States Code, to establish an expiration date of certain committee resolutions with respect to leases or projects, and for other purposes.

Madam 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 in the Record on H.R. 6316.

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

Madam Speaker, H.R. 6316 sets an expiration date for committee resolutions for the General Services Administration's capital leasing and improvements program.

If the GSA fails to proceed with a project that has been approved by both the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works within 5 years, the bill would require that the authorization expires and the GSA would then return to the committees for a new approval.

I thank my good friend, Ranking Member Titus of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, for her leadership and work on H.R. 6316 and for working with me and the whole committee on this piece of legislation, which I am proud to cosponsor.

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

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

I agree with the gentlewoman from Nevada that maybe it is not going to get a lot of press, but I think we both agree that it is simply good governing. Project proposals can grow stale, and if GSA fails to proceed on the authorization within 5 years, the agency should be required to resubmit the proposal. A lot of things can change in 5 years, and we have seen that.

H.R. 6316 would increase GSA's accountability to Congress and, more importantly, to the American people, ultimately aiding in our ability to conduct appropriate oversight of these leases and these projects.

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