§572 Real property

Summary

Money from selling extra federal land and related property must go into a special Treasury fund. The General Services Administrator can use some of that money to pay direct costs of handling and selling the property, like appraiser and broker fees, environmental and historical studies, relocation costs, advertising, and surveying. In any single year, no more than 12 percent of total sales proceeds can be used for those direct expenses. The OMB Director sets the exact limit each quarter. The fund can pay costs directly or repay the account that first covered them. Extra money beyond current needs must be moved into general government receipts at least once a year. The Administrator must report yearly on the money taken in, spent, and transferred to the OMB Director and to Congress with the budget. The law also has special rules for military property. Two defined terms are used: “military installation” and “base closure law” (both defined in title 10). If a military department says a property is extra, the Secretary of Defense must first offer it to other military departments for free. If no other military takes it, the military department asks the General Services Administrator to sell or transfer it. Proceeds, after the allowed expenses, go into a special Treasury account. If Congress allows in an appropriation, those proceeds may be used for facility repairs or environmental cleanup: for closed bases the money goes to the former owning service; for other bases half goes to the local installation and half to the former owning service. Each year the Secretary of Defense must report all transfers and sales from the prior year and explain how the money was used in the annual Armed Services funding request.