Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 6276 - Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies (USE IT) Act of 2023

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House Rules)
(Rep. Perry, R-PA)

The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 6276, the USE IT Act, which would direct the Director of the Office of Management Budget (OMB) and the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to ensure that Federal agencies' building utilization meets an arbitrary level of not less than a 60 percent average each year and, if an agency does not reach the target, GSA and OMB would have to forcibly reduce the agency's space. While the Administration believes that the Federal real estate portfolio needs to be evaluated and optimized, the Administration believes that agencies' unique missions require individualized approaches to improving space utilization. H.R. 6276 does not consider the varying mission and technical requirements of individual agencies or the age and original design of affected facilities when directing the OMB Director and GSA Administrator to develop and implement a plan to consolidate multiple agency headquarters functions into fewer buildings within the National Capital Region. These buildings, many of which are historic, would require major modernization and reconfiguration, prior to supporting dramatically increased occupancy levels. Instead, the Administration recommends strengthening the collection of utilization data by Federal agencies and providing sufficient funding to GSA and affected agencies to execute necessary consolidations. The Administration is committed to working with agencies to improve their utilization of Federal space and to identify opportunities to reduce space.