Analyst Brief March 18, 2026

H.R. 6480 — To direct the Administrator of General Services to submit a report to Congress on the state of the real estate portfolio of the Public Building Service, and for other purposes

Current Status

Reported by Committee, Committed to the Committee of the Whole House

Executive Summary

This bill, H.R. 6480, mandates the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to submit an annual report to Congress detailing the real estate portfolio of the Public Building Service. The report aims to enhance transparency and oversight of federal property management, providing critical data on leases, owned buildings, space utilization, and financial metrics. This initiative seeks to address concerns about the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of federal real estate holdings by providing a comprehensive annual snapshot to relevant congressional committees, thereby informing future policy decisions.

Bill Data

Primary Sponsor

Mr. STANTON

Bill Number

H. R. 6480

Session

119th

Co-Sponsors

None
View on Congress.gov ↗

Arguments For

  • Enhances transparency and accountability in federal real estate management, potentially leading to more efficient use of taxpayer dollars and better resource allocation.
  • Provides Congress with critical, standardized data to inform policy decisions regarding federal property, helping identify underutilized assets or areas for significant cost savings.
  • Serves as a bipartisan 'good governance' initiative, appealing to members across the aisle interested in fiscal responsibility and improving government efficiency.
  • Establishes a clear mechanism for ongoing oversight, allowing relevant committees to track GSA's performance and identify potential waste or mismanagement in the federal real estate portfolio.

Likely Supporters

Taxpayer advocacy groupsGood government organizationsReal estate industry associations (seeking market transparency)

Arguments Against

  • Imposes an additional administrative burden on the General Services Administration, requiring significant resources for comprehensive data collection, analysis, and report generation.
  • The report itself, while informative, does not mandate specific actions or reforms, meaning its impact on actual real estate improvements could be limited without further legislative steps.
  • The detailed nature of the report might reveal sensitive information about federal operations or future property plans, which could potentially be exploited or lead to political grandstanding.
  • The cost of producing such a detailed annual report could be substantial, potentially outweighing the benefits if the information is not effectively utilized by Congress for policy changes.

Likely Opponents

None specified

📋 Key Provisions

  • Mandates an annual report from the GSA Administrator to Congress by January 31st of each year.
  • Requires the report to detail the Public Building Service's real estate portfolio for the previous calendar year.
  • Specifies report contents including the number of leases signed and terminated, total leased spaces, square footage (leased, occupied, vacant), number of buildings owned, and top customers by square feet and annual rent.
  • Includes requirements for reporting on completed new construction, major repair, and alteration projects.
  • Demands financial indicators such as space utilization, operating costs per square foot, cost-avoidance from disposals and lease terminations, and deferred maintenance liabilities.
  • Requires disclosure of any Federal buildings disposed of by the Office of Real Property Disposition of the General Services Administration.
  • Mandates reporting on GSA and tenant agency plans for relocating agencies from disposed or non-renewed leased spaces, including funding sources and whether the tenant agency requested the relocations.
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Claim Analysis Page 3, Line 5 (Sec. 1(a))

The GSA Administrator must submit a report annually by January 31st.

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"Not later than January 31 of"

Claim Analysis Page 3, Line 7 (Sec. 1(a))

The report must be submitted to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

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"submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate"

Claim Analysis Page 3, Line 15 (Sec. 1(b)(1))

The report must include the number of leases signed.

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"(1) the number of leases signed;"

Claim Analysis Page 4, Line 1 (Sec. 1(b)(10))

The report must include financial indicators like space utilization and operating costs.

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"(10) financial indicators that measure and ana- lyze space utilization, operating costs per square foot"

Claim Analysis Page 4, Line 6 (Sec. 1(b)(11))

The report must detail any Federal buildings disposed of by the Office of Real Property Disposition.

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"(11) which, if any, Federal buildings were dis- posed of by the Office of Real Property Disposition"