Hawkeye Reporter

BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) are calling on federal employees to return to their taxpayer-funded offices or get rid of unused office space that continues to lie vacant. In a letter to the General Services Administration (GSA), the senators request GSA to provide data on the daily occupancy rates of federal office spaces to further determine how many federal employees continue to work remotely.

“While I’m at home in Iowa, I travel all 99 counties to meet with my constituents and hear their concerns. When the Senate is in session, I’ll be in Washington making sure I never miss a vote as their federal representative. Meanwhile, Americans get up and go to work each day in the field, factory or their offices spread across the country – all while D.C. bureaucrats sit at home and phone it in,” Grassley said. “The pandemic is over, and there’s no reason for taxpayer-funded offices to sit empty.”

“News reports indicate that Washington, D.C, which has the largest concentration of federal employees in the country, lags behind other large metro areas in employees return to the workplace since the COVID-19 emergency. Federal building occupancy data would better inform the American people and Congress on how federal office space, paid for by taxpayer dollars, is utilized. After all, it is the American people’s money that support these federal buildings,” the senators wrote 

“Federal agencies that use taxpayer money to lease and maintain buildings must utilize the space they are paying for. No taxpayer should have to front the bill for federal agencies to heat and air condition, replace lightbulbs, and take out unused trash bins in empty buildings,” the senators insisted. “The COVID-19 emergency is over, federal employees cannot work from home forever and must return to office space the taxpayer pays for, or we need to get rid of the unused office space.” 

The full text of the letter can be found HERE and below. 

The Honorable Robin Carnahan

Administrator

General Services Administration 

Dear Administrator Carnahan: 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that federal agencies have made few changes within their federally leased space since the COVID-19 emergency, and they collect very limited data on how many employees report in-person to federal offices.   In surveys conducted in July 2021 and April 2022, GAO found that 20 of the 24 federal agencies surveyed, including GSA, either did not collect or collected limited space utilization data concerning how many federal employees worked in office buildings as indicated by a combination of electronic badging, sensors, and other technologies.   GSA collected this data from “approximately one percent” of the 7,700 federal leases it manages and from “approximately eight percent” of 1,699 federally owned buildings.   The GAO report states that GSA would begin collecting additional data about space utilization in 2022. 

A January 2022 GSA factsheet on daily occupancy data states that GSA’s Public Building Service had begun collecting anonymous building entry information from its tenant agencies and through physical building access cards to better understand how the increase in telework and virtual teaming due to COVID-19 has changed the utilization of office space.   

GAO reported that GSA has no plans to publicize current or future federal building occupancy data that it collects. This is unacceptable. News reports indicate that Washington, D.C, which has the largest concentration of federal employees in the country, lags behind other large metro areas in employees return to the workplace since the COVID-19 emergency.  Federal building occupancy data would better inform the American people and Congress on how federal office space, paid for by taxpayer dollars, is utilized.  After all, it is the American people’s money that support these federal buildings.  

GSA is responsible for managing federal agency leases that total $5.7 billion in annual rental costs. The public availability of the number of federal employees who report in-person to the office will provide needed transparency into whether the taxpayer is getting the most bang for their buck.  Federal agencies that use taxpayer money to lease and maintain buildings must utilize the space they are paying for.  No taxpayer should have to front the bill for federal agencies to heat and air condition, replace lightbulbs, and take out unused trash bins in empty buildings.   The COVID-19 emergency is over, federal employees cannot work from home forever and must return to office space the taxpayer pays for, or we need to get rid of the unused office space.  

 In order for Congress to conduct objective and independent oversight concerning the utilization and occupancy of federal office buildings and the costs to the taxpayer, please answer the following and provide the requested data no later than June 5, 2023.

Why won’t GSA make the number of federal employees who report to federal office space in-person publicly available?Provide a list of each GSA managed federal building and the Department or agency occupying the property.  For each federal building in each of the past five years, for each month provide the number of federal employees housed at the property,  the average daily occupancy rate, the lowest number of federal employees that reported to the building, and the highest number of federal employees that reported to the building.For each federal building listed in Question 2, provide the annual rental, operation, and maintenance costs for each of the past five years.According to the January 2022 GSA factsheet, GSA used its own occupancy data that it collected to “successfully consolidate 2,000 people from six leased locations in the Washington, DC metro area to [GSA] headquarters building” which saved taxpayers $24 million in annual rent cost, $6 million in annual administrative costs, and a 50% reduction in energy consumption. 

For each of the six previously leased GSA locations in each of the past five years, for each month please provide the number of federal employees housed at the property, the average daily occupancy rate, the lowest number of federal employees that reported to the building, the highest number of federal employees that reported to the building, and the annual rent, operation, and maintenance cost. 

Thank you for your prompt review and response. If you have any questions, please contact our staff.

Original source can be found here.