The General Services Administration would face restrictions on construction of new federal buildings under a financial services bill cleared Wednesday by the House Appropriations Committee for fiscal year 2016, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) chairman of the House Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, said GSA would receive less than half of its requested budget for infrastructure repairs under the legislation, Emily Kopp writes.
The bill would cut GSA’s Federal Buildings Fund by $803 million and allow the agency to spend $26 million on the disposal of surplus properties and $70 million on space consolidation programs, according to the report
“Underfunding renovation is particularly damaging, as the government must be a good steward of its own assets, able to take advantage of opportunities to save money over the long term and maintain its buildings adequately to avoid more costly failures in the future,” Shaun Donovan, director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a letter to lawmakers.
Donovan noted that the budget cuts could affect long-term savings he says could be realized by the government from construction projects, such as the proposed consolidation of the Department of Homeland Security‘s headquarters in southeast Washington, according to the report.
