COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

STATEMENT OF

ROBERT A. PECK
COMMISSIONER

PUBLIC BUILDINGS SERVICE
U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,
PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

COMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

"CUTTING SPENDING AND CONSOLIDATING FEDERAL
OFFICE SPACE: GSA'S CAPITAL INVESTMENTAND
LEASING PROGRAM"

March 10, 2011

Good morning Chairman Denham, Ranking Member Norton, and Members of the Subcommittee, My name is Robert A. Peck and I am the Commissioner of the U. S. General Services Administration's (GSA) Public Buildings Service (PBS). I am accompanied by David Foley, our Deputy Commissioner. Thank you for inviting us here today to discuss the critical investments GSA is making in our nation's infrastructure through our FY2012 capital investments.

As the Government's real property expert, PBS develops asset strategies to effectively manage our owned and leased building portfolio. PBS utilizes a sophisticated portfolio analysis, considering a variety of critical elements including tenant requirements, energy efficiency, and building infrastructure needs.

PBS selects new construction, renovation, and leasing projects that help Federal agencies fulfill their missions and maximize taxpayer value by effectively utilizing federal space. The projects selected for PBS's FY2012 program foster economic development, build upon the recovery of the construction industry, increase asset utilization, and pursue innovative new technologies that will reduce energy usage and create jobs.

The FY2012 request assumes full funding of the FY2011 President's Budget for GSA's construction and major repair and alteration program. Since we have not yet received funding for our FY2011 capital program, GSA may need to later reconsider our FY2012 request in light of what is appropriated in 2011. If any revisions are necessary, we will notify the committee accordingly. We want to thank this subcommittee and the full Committee for authorizing in a timely manner last year the FY 2011 capital program prospectuses that we submitted.

PBS continues to demonstrate strong operational performance, surpassing many private sector benchmarks. We aggressively pursue dispositions of unneeded Federal real estate and work with Federal agencies to better utilize space and get the greatest return to taxpayers. As of the first quarter of fiscal year 2011, 82.6 percent of our government-owned assets are achieving a positive cash flow and our vacancy rate was 2.9 percent, well below the private sector vacancy rate of 16.7 percent. PBS is also driving change in the sustainability of real property by becoming a green proving ground for new and innovative technologies. These efforts, in addition to our existing programs around environmental efficiency in building operations, enable PBS to reduce the Federal government's carbon footprint and optimize energy savings.