House advances bill to sell off federal properties to reduce debt

The House on Monday evening advanced legislation that would set up a nine-member commission to identify federal properties that could be sold to help reduce the deficit.

By a 233-155 vote, members approved the rule for H.R. 1734, the Civilian Property Realignment Act. Approval of the rule will allow the House to begin debate on the bill itself shortly after 7 p.m.

"The federal executive-branch agencies hold an extensive amount of property … that includes 429,000 buildings and over a million total properties," Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) said on the House floor.

"In fact, the federal government is the largest owner and manager of real estate in our country," he added. "If we sold all excess federal properties ... proceeds ... could approach $15 billion on top of the annual savings reaped from reducing maintenance and operating cost."

Under the bill, the commission would be tasked with identifying properties and making sale recommendations to the administration. The president could transmit these recommendations with messages noting his approval or disapproval of the properties identified, and Congress would have to pass a resolution approving of the recommendations before they take effect.

The proposal is loosely based on President Obama's own recommendations to help trim the sale of properties. However, the Obama administration on Monday released a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) that says it does not support language in the bill that would exempt several large categories of property that the commission could not propose for sale.

Exemption under the bill include properties used by the military or that have national security uses, and properties used by Native Americans, the U.S. Postal Service, or land with environmental uses.

The administration also objected to language that requires Congress to approve the commission's recommendations. But the SAP did not say Obama would veto the bill if it were presented for his signature.

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) said on the floor that some House Democrats will also object to additional language in the bill that would eliminate an exemption for homeless shelters. But Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) said both parties have agreed to an amendment that will resolve this issue.

Polis also argued that the bill contains $62 million in costs related to the commission that are not paid for. In response, Denham said the bill requires a future Congress to approve that funding, and that the bill requires the commission to recommend $500 million in property sales in the first six months, which will help pay for the cost of the commission.

Polis added that he opposes language that would limit the ability to review the environmental impact of property sales, an issue the Obama administration also identified as a problem. But other than these problems, Polis said Democrats should support the main thrust of the bill, although most voted against the closed rule for considering the legislation.

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