{
  "id": "R44286",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R44286",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 447589,
      "date": "2015-11-25",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:51:34.187249",
      "title": "Federal Real Property Data: Limitations and Implications for Oversight",
      "summary": "The federal executive branch owns and leases more than 275,000 buildings, with annual operating costs in excess of $21 billion. Oversight of this portfolio of buildings has been a priority for recent congresses, particularly since real property management has been identified as a \u201chigh-risk\u201d area by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), every year since 2003. Key potential weaknesses in real property management include agencies holding empty or only partially occupied buildings; relying on leases for new space even when ownership would be cheaper; and making decisions using real property data of questionable quality. This report examines the challenges to oversight posed by the lack of accurate and reliable real property data, particularly as it relates to the disposal of unneeded building space and the government\u2019s overreliance on costly leasing.\nThe primary source of real property data available to Congress is the Federal Real Property Report (FRPR), which provides aggregate data on executive branch agency portfolios. The data, which are drawn from a database managed by the General Services Administration (GSA), can be unreliable and incomplete, which limits the effectiveness of the FRPR as an oversight tool. After building utilization definitions were revised in FY2013, for example, the number of properties categorized as \u201cunutilized\u201d declined 54% and the number of properties categorized as \u201cunderutilized\u201d declined 97%. The FRPR also discontinued reporting the annual operating costs of underutilized and unutilized buildings after FY2010\u2014data that could help Congress understand the full costs of inefficiencies in the building disposal process. GSA does not permit Congress direct access to its real property database, so there is currently no way to obtain that data should GSA opt not to report it in the FRPR.\nThe FRPR is also the primary source of data available to Congress on real property leases. The data on leased space, however, can also be unreliable and incomplete. In FY2014, for example, GSA reported a 45% decline in the amount of leased space held by the executive branch, and it revised data from FY2013, so that the new figures showed the government held 44% less leased space than it had previously reported for that year. Similarly, while long-term operating leases are most likely to expose the government to financial loss, the FRPR does not provide any data specifically on them. Neither does the FRPR provide data on high-value leases\u2014those leases which, although small in number, often account for a disproportionately large percentage of an agency\u2019s operating costs. Key components of agency real property portfolios\u2014notably their long-term and high-value leases\u2014are subject to limited scrutiny from Congress due to the lack of accessible data.\nSome of the weaknesses in real property data may be mitigated by congressional action. The FRPR could be expanded to include data Congress believes has important oversight value, such as, perhaps, data on the annual operating costs of unutilized and underutilized buildings, and data on long-term and high-value leases. In addition, obtaining access to GSA\u2019s real property database would enable Congress to look at all of the information GSA collects, and to analyze it in a variety of ways\u2014in aggregate, by agency, or by individual building\u2014as policy needs dictate. Agency lease prospectuses\u2014detailed descriptions of the size, cost, and need for high-value leases that must be authorized by Congress\u2014might be required to include the cost of constructing or buying the space which an agency proposed leasing, so that Congress knows if it is being asked to approve the most cost-effective method of space acquisition.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
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      "topics": []
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  "topics": [
    "American Law"
  ]
}