S.Amdt. 2371

As your legislative analyst, I want to keep you informed on what our elected officials are trying to change. Ms. Ernst submitted amendment SA 2371, which aims to force the government to close, relocate out of, and sell specific federal buildings in Washington, DC.

Here is what the amendment specifically aims to do:

• Require any federal agency located in specific federal buildings to vacate the building and relocate to another federal building within 18 months of the Act being enacted.
• Require the Administrator of General Services to sell the listed federal buildings for fair market value at highest and best use within 2 years of the vacancy.
• Prohibit the sale of these buildings to any foreign person, foreign entity, or any entity where a foreign person is a beneficial owner.
• Direct the net proceeds from the sales to be used to cover the implementation costs in an account within the Federal Buildings Fund, with any additional amounts going to the general fund of the Treasury to reduce the deficit.
• Ban the Administrator, any federal agency, or any department from purchasing or leasing any other building or property on a short-term or long-term basis as part of these closures and consolidations.
• Exempt these building sales from specific requirements under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the National Historic Preservation Act, and chapters 5 and 87 of title 40, United States Code.