Comer Announces Hearing with GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) will hold a hearing titled “Oversight of the U.S. General Services Administration.” This full committee hearing will examine the operations of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and how their activities influence billions of dollars in annual discretionary spending across federal agencies.

“Under the Biden Administration, federal telework levels remain elevated with agencies’ D.C. headquarters offices sitting mostly empty. Even during a maximum telework policy, taxpayer money continued to flow to renew expensive leases on largely empty office buildings and purchase luxurious furniture for empty conference rooms,” said Chairman Comer. “These reports of lavish spending by federal agencies are deeply concerning because Americans expect the federal government to manage their tax dollars efficiently and effectively. The House Oversight Committee has a responsibility to hold agencies accountable and work to prevent any waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds. I look forward to hearing directly from GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan on what steps GSA is taking to rein in discretionary spending across the federal government and ensure taxpayer funds are being spent wisely, especially when it comes to empty and underutilized properties.”     

GSA manages approximately 511 million square feet of office space for federal agencies in buildings owned by the federal government, while leasing nearly 180 million square feet of space from the private sector. Operating and maintaining these buildings, and rent for leased properties, costs taxpayers billions annually. Yet recent findings by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) demonstrates that 17 of 24 major agency headquarters buildings were less than 25 percent occupied, with some less than 10 percent full. GSA’s headquarters was among the emptiest surveyed, utilizing only 9 percent, despite being the government’s primary real estate and property manager. Significant savings for taxpayers could be achieved by consolidating or reducing the inventory of underutilized and empty office space.

WHAT: Hearing titled “Oversight of the U.S. General Services Administration”

DATE: Thursday, October 19, 2023

TIME: 10:00 AM ET

LOCATION: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

WITNESSES:

• The Honorable Robin Carnahan, Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)

The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed online at https://oversight.house.gov/.