Big Ticket Waste: Are Empty Federal Buildings Emptying the Taxpayers’ Wallets?

Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security

Monday, February 6, 2006
10:15 AM

Did you know that more than 30 federal agencies are wasting --at the very least--, $15 billion in unused real property assets worldwide? We don’t even know how big the number is because there is no definitive inventory of federally owned facilities and land, let alone an inventory of buildings and land that go unused. Taxpayers are losing billions each year as Congress keeps sending checks to pay holding costs for vacant buildings, instead of demanding that they be sold or demolished.

Location: the former Main Post Office in Chicago, 2.5 million square feet of unused property. Holding costs for this facility exceed $2 million annually, and it has been vacant since 1997. Why has it taken so long to sell the property?? This field hearing will explore the reasons why so many agencies do not efficiently or effectively maintain and manage their real property portfolios.

Location: Former Main Post Office, Chicago (433 West Van Buren Street)

And Cardiss Collins Post Office

Quad C Room 3087

433 W. Harrison Street

60699-9208

Chicago, Illinois

Witnesses

Panel 1

• Mark Goldstein [view testimony]
  Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues
  U.S. Government Accountability Office
• Bill Matthews [view testimony]
  Director
  Office of Portfolio Management, U.S. General Services Administration
• Jim Sullivan [view testimony]
  Deputy Director
  Office of Acquisition and Enterprise Management, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Tom Samra [view testimony]
  Vice President
  Facilities, United States Postal Service
• Dr. Get Moy [view testimony]
  Director, Installations Requirement and Management,
  Office of the Secretary of Defense Installations and Environment, U.S. Department of Defense