Sponsors
The bill pushes agencies to identify, remediate, and dispose of underused federal real property to save taxpayer money and improve accountability and safety, but it does so while imposing significant operational disruption, near‑term costs, and reduced telework flexibility for federal employees.
Taxpayers could see substantial long‑term savings if underused federal civilian buildings are identified, consolidated, sold, or vacated, reducing ongoing maintenance and leasing costs.
Requires GAO reporting, agency certifications, and enforceable disposition steps, increasing transparency and accountability over federal real property and reducing opportunities for waste.
Remediating or addressing underutilized buildings can reduce health risks (e.g., Legionella) for employees and visitors by prompting corrective action or disposal of unsafe properties.
Most federal employees would be required to return to the office five days a week, substantially reducing telework flexibility and affecting work–life balance for a large workforce.
Near‑term fiscal costs — from remediation/demolition, higher facility/operating requirements to meet occupancy targets, and potentially new or replacement leases — could increase taxpayer expenses before any long‑term savings are realized.
Disposing, consolidating, or forcing agencies out of buildings can disrupt operations and require relocations, imposing direct costs and service interruptions for federal employees and the public.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Requires agencies to adopt 80% in‑person work rules and 60% building‑occupancy targets and to sell or end leases for properties that miss deadlines.
Introduced January 15, 2025 by John Neely Kennedy · Last progress January 15, 2025
Requires federal agencies to adopt policies forcing most employees to work in person and to meet minimum building-occupancy levels, with deadlines and oversight; agencies that fail to comply must sell or end leases for under‑used properties. Agencies must update policies within 120 days of enactment, certify space usage, and submit plans if they lack enough staff to meet occupancy targets.