Quigley Bill Saves Billions, Gets Rid of Vacant Federal Property

WASHINGTON, DC – July 28, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) testified that his bill—the Federal Real Property Disposal Enhancement Act—would save the federal government billions of dollars simply by selling or disposing of unwanted government-owned property. Quigley spoke in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on behalf of the legislation, which he introduced  in March.

“As the debate on how to get our debt under control swirls around the Capitol, this bill is a no-brainer because it saves us billions without cutting a single program,” said Quigley. “Too many of these properties are unused and unneeded and it’s time we stopped wasting precious tax dollars maintaining them.”

The federal government currently maintains 14,000 buildings and structures deemed extraneous by agencies, and over 45,000 properties identified as underutilized.  In fiscal year 2009, these underutilized buildings cost $1.66 billion in annual operating costs and, according to President Obama’s Fiscal Commission, disposing of all excess and surplus property could save $8 billion in fiscal year 2012.

Quigley’s bill incentivizes agencies to dispose of unneeded properties by allowing them to retain proceeds from property sales, and use those funds to pay for disposal costs.  Any profits from sales not used for disposal costs will be used to pay down the deficit.  Additionally, it empowers the General Services Administration to help agencies identify and dispose of unneeded properties, and creates an online database for all property owned by the federal government.

Quigley, who serves on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, testified during a hearing entitled “Disposal of Federal Real Property: Legislative Proposals.”  He is the author of Reinventing Government: The Federal Budget, which includes 60 recommendations to save $2 trillion over the next 10 years.