Federal Buildings

Billions of dollars are needed for repairs and alterations at federal buildings. This situation is not new. Nearly a decade ago, GAO reported that federal buildings had suffered from years of neglect and, as a result, about $4 billion was needed to bring these structures up to standard. (See GAO/GGD-91-57, May 1991.) GAO recommended that the General Services Administration (GSA) adopt a more strategic approach to managing repairs and alternations, improve program data, and explore financing opportunities for repair and alteration needs. GSA has yet to fully implement those suggestions. GSA officials recognize that more needs to be done to effectively respond to growing demands for repairs and alterations. GSA has several initiatives under way that, if fully developed and effectively implemented, could satisfy GAO's earlier recommendations, lead to better program oversight, and promote a more strategic approach to meeting repair and alterations needs. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Federal Buildings: Billions Are Needed for Repairs and Alterations, by Bernard L. Ungar, Director of Government Business Operations Issues, before the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, Hazardous Materials, and Pipeline Transportation, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. GAO/T-GGD-00-73, Apr. 11 (11 pages).

GAO noted that: (1) GSA has struggled over the years to meet the repair and alteration requirements identified at its buildings; (2) billions of dollars are needed to satisfy the repair and alteration needs at federal buildings; (3) the Federal Buildings Fund (FBF), a revolving fund that finances repair and alteration needs and other capital and operating expenditures, is not producing the revenues needed to meet all repair and alteration needs; (4) repairs and alterations program data are problematic and GSA has not yet fully institutionalized its thinking and planning about how best to strategically respond to its multibillion-dollar repair and alteration needs; (5) almost a decade ago--in May 1991--GAO reported that federal buildings had suffered from years of neglect, and as a result, about $4 billion was needed to bring some of these buildings up to acceptable quality, health, and safety standards; (6) GAO's report pointed out that FBF historically had not produced sufficient revenues to finance all needed repairs and alterations at federal buildings; (7) the report also identified incomplete and unreliable program data and the lack of a strategic approach to meeting repair and alteration requirements as other factors that impeded GSA's ability to satisfy its repair and alteration needs; (8) the report made recommendations, which GSA has yet to fully implement, aimed at adopting a more strategic approach for managing repairs and alterations, improving program data, and exploring financing opportunities for repair and alteration needs; (9) GSA officials recognize that more needs to be done to effectively respond to increasing demands for repairs and alterations; (10) GSA has several initiatives under way that, if fully developed and effectively implemented, could satisfy GAO's previous recommendations, lead to better program oversight, and promote a more strategic approach to meeting repair and alteration requirements; and (11) GSA's ongoing initiative to standardize and improve each building's asset business plan should provide GSA's program managers with consistent and up-to-date information about the repairs and alterations, the critical nature of each work item, how long a work item has been delayed, and the adverse consequences of delaying repair and alteration work.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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