GSA 's Capital Investment and Leasing Program

PBS activities are funded primarily through the Federal Building Fund (FBF), an intra-governmental fund into which agencies pay rent for the properties they occupy. Any excess funds generated by the rental system are used for building repairs and new construction. In 1975, the FBF replaced appropriations to GSA as the primary means of financing the operations and capital costs associated with the Federal space owned or leased by GSA, Each year, GSA submits to the House Committee on Transportation and infrastructure and the Environment and the Senate Public Works Committee its Capital Investment and Leasing Program (CILP) for the subsequent fiscal year. The CILP submission includes what are known as prospectuses for each project, detailing the project scope, need, and estimated costs. The prospectus must be approved by the Office of Management and Budget, and must detail the particular project along with the cost, benefits, and plan for Federal occupancy. Those prospectuses are submitted as part of the CILP each year. For FY 2011, a prospectus is required for any project in excess of $2.79 million.

Congress exercises control over the FBF through the annual appropriations process by setting limits on how much of the fund can be expended for various activities. Section 3307 of Title 40, United States Code, requires the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Environment and Public Works of the Senate to pass resolutions authorizing prospectuses for construction, repair, alteration, or leasing of space prior to an appropriation of funds.

In the FY 2011 CILP, GSA submitted prospectuses for 47 projects, including those for alteration, design, construction, and leasing. 26 prospectuses for leased space, most of which were submitted later in 2010, have not been acted on by the Committee through resolution and are still pending before the Committee.   In addition, as of this Briefing Memorandum, GSA has failed to submit to the Committee its FY 2012 CILP, despite repeated requests in the past by the Committee to ensure their timely submission following the issuance of the President's budget which details the prospectus-level construction, repair and alteration projects the Administration proposes to fund.

In particular, the President's FY 2012 Budget requests authority to fund the following projects from the FBF (Some projects, such as those listed for St. Elizabeths, were previously authorized by the Committee in 2010):