House Panel Approves GSA Funding Bill Above FY 2013 Investment Levels

Funding Below President’s FY 2014 Request for GSA Construction Spending On July 17, the House Appropriations Committee approved a General Services Administration (GSA) funding bill that would increase construction accounts compared to FY 2013. However, the proposed levels of GSA construction investment are well below the president’s FY 2014 budget request. The House Appropriations Committee bill would provide $635 million for a newly created “Capital Projects” account, which would merge the previous “Construction and Acquisition” and “Repairs and Alterations” accounts. This amounts to $305 million more for GSA construction investment than FY 2013 enacted levels, which totaled $330 million. In addition to consolidating construction accounts, the House bill would further direct GSA construction investment by “highest priority capital needs.” Accordingly, of the $635 million for construction investment in GSA facilities, the House bill would direct $100 million to the Judiciary, $125 million to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, $100 million to consolidation activities, $50 million for all other facilities as prioritized by the Public Building Service, and $260 for basic repairs and alterations. For details, view pages 50 through 60 of the House Appropriation Committee Report. The president’s FY 2014 budget request for GSA, however, includes $816 million for the new construction and acquisition account – more than $760 million above the FY 2012 and FY 2013 funding levels – and $1.3 billion for the repairs and alterations account – an increase of over $1 billion compared to FY 2012 and FY 2013 levels. Under the president’s budget, GSA released details concerning specific projects for which the administration proposes funds. Many of these proposed projects could be in jeopardy if this House bill becomes law, as the House bill would provide $1.483 billion less than the president’s request. The Senate has not yet begun work on its version of the GSA funding bill. AGC will continue to advocate for robust investment in federal facilities as a means to help produce taxpayer savings by reducing the government’s footprint, both through space consolidation and energy sustainability opportunities. For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson at (703) 837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org.