Hearing set up on proposals to shed excess federal property

Denham, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, has been working with the Obama administration for several months on a plan to decrease the inventory of mostly unused federal buildings.

The bill establishes a nine-person Civilian Property Realignment Commission, similar to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) that closed more than 350 installations between 1989 and 2005, that would determine the fate of more than 12,000 federal properties.

Last week, the White House announced that President Obama is sending similar legislation to Congress this week to accelerate the clearance of excess federal properties off the government’s books.

Once properties are designated for sale, Congress would then take an up-or-down vote on whether to accept the board’s recommendations. Congress also has to approve creation of the board.

White House officials called the method “a proven approach to the process of dispensing with unused federal properties” although it’s the first time the process has been applied to civilian properties. 

The federal government owns and operates more than 1.2 million buildings costing about $20 billion a year to operate.