Lawmaker proposes ‘FAST’ slim down of federal property

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) wants to shrink the federal government and make some money in the process. He introduced the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer (FAST) Act of 2016 on Feb. 4, which would identify federal properties that could be sold off to reduce operation and maintenance costs.

According to the General Services Administration’s 2014 Federal Real Property Profile, the government owns or leases roughly 275,000 buildings. Of those, approximately 77,000 are under-utilized and cost $1.7 billion annually, according to information provided by Denham’s office.

“Unused and under-utilized federal properties have been draining on our economy for years,” Denham said in a statement. “My bill will save us billions by cutting through red tape to change the poorly managed property management system so that taxpayers no longer have to foot the bill for keeping the lights on in empty buildings.”

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