§623 Establishment of a Federal Real Property Council

Summary

Creates a Federal Real Property Council to make the government better at managing land and buildings. The Council must write guidance, find ways to manage property and assets more smartly, and cut costs for running, maintaining, and securing federal property. Its members are the senior real property officer from each federal agency, the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget (who is the Chair), the OMB Controller, the Administrator, and any other federal officials the Chair thinks are needed. The Chair must pick an Executive Director with strong experience in commercial real estate, property management, and federal operations who has no outside work that conflicts. The Council must meet when the Chair calls it and at least 4 times each year. Working with the Director and the Administrator, the Council must, within 1 year after the law is passed, create a real property management plan template that is updated each year. The template must show performance measures, milestones, measurable savings, strategies, and government-wide goals to cut surplus or better use underused property, and it must allow tracking and comparison of agency performance. The Council must also set consistent space-use rates, plan to reduce long-term leasing when buying is cheaper, fix leasing inefficiencies, list field offices suited for collocation, study public‑private partnership best practices, and report to the Director within 1 year and then annually for the next 4 years (years 2–5 after enactment). Reports must list excess, surplus, and underused property by agency, show progress, give recommendations if needed, and name consulted parties. The Council must consult state, local, and tribal officials and private experts in areas like real estate, space planning, community development, historic preservation, and homeless housing. The Director and the Administrator must provide staff and administrative support. Each year the Council must send the template and reports to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate; the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives; the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; and the Comptroller General. The law also lists seven categories that do not count as surplus property, including military installations, certain trust or excluded properties, Tennessee Valley Authority land, public lands managed by Interior or Agriculture, and U.S. Postal Service property.