Lankford Bill to Create Leasing Program for Underutilized Federal Properties Passes Senate 

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – The Senate unanimously passed legislation authored by Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) to create a program that allows federal agencies to lease underutilized properties with approval from the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), and to use the rent payments to help fund capital projects and facilities maintenance. Currently, many federal agencies hold underused property that they need and cannot sell—but could be fully utilized by other public or private entities.  

“We should always seek the best value for taxpayers,” said Lankford. “Underutilized federal property is a waste of taxpayer-funded resources. This bill builds off of a successful program at NASA, which has saved the taxpayers millions of dollars each year and will encourage other agencies to look for ways they can be better stewards of federal property.” 

“The federal government has a duty to limit wasteful spending and use taxpayer dollars effectively. By leasing underused space at federal properties, we can ensure the government is considering every opportunity to generate additional revenue,” said Peters. “This commonsense, bipartisan bill will help save taxpayer dollars and help agencies reduce costs.” 

  

“We’re saving Arizona taxpayers their hard-earned money and cutting government waste by allowing federal agencies to use rent revenue from underused spaces to pay for important projects and maintenance—instead of using hardworking Arizonans’ money,” said Sinema. 

“Taxpayers deserve to know that government resources are being used as efficiently and effectively as possible,” said Hawley. “This legislation takes an important step toward generating new revenue from underutilized federal property to ensure our federal agencies are responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.” 

  

Federal agencies routinely hold property that could be used more effectively by other public and private entities. For example, some agencies could have space and equipment they need part time, but could otherwise be well-suited to university or private partnerships. The Senators’ legislation would allow federal agencies to explore ways to fully utilize their property, and generate revenue to fund other projects such as long-needed maintenance, revitalization, and other improvements, as well as deficit reduction. 

  

The Saving Money and Accelerating Repairs Through Leasing (SMART Leasing) Act would

• Create a pilot program to allow federal agencies to sublease underutilized non-excess real property and related personal property to any person or entity at fair market value, including another department or agency of the federal government or an entity of a state or local government
• Require the GSA Administrator to certify that any lease will not have a negative impact on the mission of the federal agencies, and that the terms and conditions of the lease protect the interests of the country
• Limit the number of leases to six per year for the first two years after enactment to determine the impacts of this program, at which point GSA can advise Congress on whether the program should be extended or expanded
• Provide 50 percent of revenue generated from leases to capital improvements and maintenance with the other 50 percent for reducing the deficit

The legislation was modeled on a similar program used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—which has generated millions of dollars in revenue for the agency to use on capital projects and facilities maintenance.  

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