Letter to the editor: Give GSA access to building maintenance funding
· The Washington TimesOPINION:
The Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) applauds the recent commentary by Edward C. Forst, Matt Kelly and Jeffrey D. DeBoer, which examines the misappropriation of funds that has led many of America’s landmarks and federal buildings to fall into disrepair (“As America turns 250, Congress lets our icons fade,” Web, May 12).
As the op-ed rightly points out — and as PBRB’s own work in recommending opportunities for reducing and consolidating the federal real property has demonstrated — Congress has often restricted or delayed access to the funding required for basic upkeep of these buildings.
As a result, many federally owned properties are deteriorating.
With that in mind, PBRB joins the General Services Administration in urging Congress to give the agency responsible for managing one of the world’s largest and most diverse real estate portfolios timely access to maintenance funding.
Doing so will allow the government to preserve asset value in many of the buildings it owns while disposing of properties that are outdated, poorly maintained and largely unoccupied.
It will also save U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars in day-to-day operations and maintenance costs, while providing federal employees with safer, modernized workspaces and returning numerous underused properties to local tax bases nationwide.
PAUL WALDEN
Executive director, Public Buildings Reform Board
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Washington