[Pages H104-H105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION REAL ESTATE LEASING AUTHORITY 
                             REVOCATION ACT

  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 189) to amend title 40, United States Code, to eliminate the 
leasing authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and for 
other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 189

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Securities and Exchange 
     Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act''.

     SEC. 2. LEASING OF SPACE FOR SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 
                   COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--Section 3304 of title 40, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Leasing of Space for Securities and Exchange 
     Commission.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on 
     and after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
     Securities and Exchange Commission may not lease general 
     purpose office space. The Administrator may lease such space 
     for the Securities and Exchange Commission under section 585 
     and this chapter.''.
       (b) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--The amendment 
     made by subsection (a) may not be construed to invalidate or 
     otherwise affect a lease entered into by the Securities and 
     Exchange Commission before the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. INDEPENDENT LEASING AUTHORITIES.

       (a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee 
     on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the 
     Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
     the Senate a report on the review described in subsection 
     (b).
       (b) Review.--The Comptroller General shall complete a 
     review under which the Comptroller General shall update the 
     2016 report of the Comptroller General (GAO-16-648) with a 
     specific focus on the following:
       (1) Updating the information included in Appendix II: 
     Federal Entities That Reported Having Independent Leasing 
     Authority for Domestic Offices and Warehouses of such report.
       (2) Determining to what extent Federal entities with 
     independent leasing authorities have had such authorities 
     rescinded or amended and the number and amount of office and 
     warehouse space such entities lease.
       (3) Determining to what extent have agencies with 
     independent leasing authority utilized the General Services 
     Administration for leasing, including utilization of 
     delegation of authority.
       (4) Identifying progress made on implementing the 
     recommendations in such report.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Graves) and the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 189.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission violated 
Federal law by signing a lease for 1.4 million square feet that cost 
taxpayers over $566 million.
  Investigations conducted by the Transportation and Infrastructure 
Committee, as well as SEC's inspector general, found that the SEC had 
exceeded its authority with this lease. Investigations also found that 
the SEC had a history of mismanaging its leasing authority.
  Recent actions taken by the SEC seem to indicate that the agency has 
not learned from the past. This is why I urge support of H.R. 189, 
which would revoke the SEC's leasing authority for general office space 
and bring them in line with current leasing practices through the 
General Services Administration.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the bill, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.

                              {time}  1700

  Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 189, the Securities and 
Exchange Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act.
  This bill revokes the independent real estate leasing authority of 
the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Congress granted the 
SEC independent leasing authority in 1990, which means the SEC does not 
use the GSA, the General Services Administration, for its real estate 
needs, as many government agencies do.
  While some Federal agencies have used their independent real estate 
leasing authority successfully, since securing their own authority, the 
SEC has wasted time and taxpayer dollars with failed procurements.
  For example, in 2010, after the SEC leased 900,000 square feet of 
space in the Constitution Center building in Washington, D.C., the 
SEC's own inspector general found that the SEC had overestimated the 
amount of space needed, attempted to eliminate competition among 
building owners, and violated the Antideficiency Act.
  After this incident, the SEC pledged to Congress that the agency 
would use the GSA to handle its real estate procurements, but the SEC 
has yet to follow through on that pledge and has since canceled 
procurements, had lawsuits, and wasted taxpayer dollars.
  Congresswoman Norton introduced an identical bill during the 118th 
Congress. That bill, H.R. 388, passed both the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure and the House of Representatives on 
voice votes. Unfortunately, H.R. 388 was not even considered by the 
Senate.
  It is time for Congress to return the SEC's leasing authority to the 
GSA, the Federal Government's civilian real estate arm.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, which 
the House passed in the 117th and 118th Congresses. I thank Chairman 
Graves and Ranking Member Larsen for bringing this bill to the floor 
again.
  This bill would revoke the independent real estate leasing authority 
of the Securities and Exchange Commission and direct the Government 
Accountability Office to update its 2016 report on independent real 
estate leasing authority in the Federal Government.
  While a number of Federal agencies have independent real estate 
leasing authority, the SEC has a history of egregious real estate 
leasing practices. In 2005, the SEC disclosed that it had underbudgeted 
costs of approximately $48 million for the construction of its 
headquarters near Union Station.
  In 2007, after moving into its headquarters, the SEC shuffled its 
employees to different office space at a cost of over $3 million 
without any cost-benefit analysis or justifiable explanation.
  In 2010, the SEC conducted a deeply flawed analysis to justify the 
need to lease 900,000 square feet and to commit over $500 million over 
10 years, overestimating its space needs by over 300 percent.
  In addition, the SEC failed to provide complete and accurate 
information and

[[Page H105]]

prepared a faulty and backdated justification and approval after it had 
already signed the lease.
  In August 2016, the General Services Administration and the SEC 
entered into an occupancy agreement to authorize GSA to secure a new 
15-year lease. In December 2016, GSA, with the approval of the SEC, 
submitted a prospectus to Congress for approximately 1.3 million square 
feet, which Congress approved in 2018.
  In 2019, GSA had received final bids, resolved all protests, and even 
selected a final bidder. A month later, the SEC canceled the occupancy 
agreement, citing concerns about the value of the purchase option, 
which the SEC refused to document to Congress.
  The SEC effectively vetoed the entire 3-year procurement process 
despite not having the authority or funding to exercise the purchase 
option without GSA's involvement.
  Finally, after much back and forth between the two agencies, GSA 
entered into a lease for a new SEC headquarters in September 2021, 
which GSA terminated in October 2024.
  While the SEC has said it will continue to have GSA do its leasing in 
the future, the SEC's history of egregious leasing conduct, squandering 
hundreds of millions of dollars, makes this bill necessary.

  The SEC's conduct risks undermining the reputation of GSA and the 
Federal Government among developers and building owners who participate 
in Federal lease procurements. The threat of uncertainty ultimately 
drives up the cost of all GSA real estate procurements.
  It is time for Congress to return the SEC's leasing authority to GSA, 
the Federal Government's civilian real estate arm. As the SEC has 
demonstrated over three decades, it is incredibly inefficient, 
wasteful, and redundant to have the SEC do real estate procurements 
when GSA exists for that very reason.
  Like other Federal agencies, the SEC will continue to have input into 
GSA's real estate decisionmaking process, but GSA would have the 
ultimate authority.
  Again, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, since securing its own real estate 
leasing authority, the SEC has wasted time and money with failed 
procurements. It is past time for the SEC to cede that authority back 
to the GSA.
  My colleague, Congresswoman Holmes Norton, has explained this very 
thoroughly and clearly.
  Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 189, and I urge my colleagues to do the 
same. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  Mr. Speaker, by ensuring that the SEC continues to use GSA for its 
space needs, H.R. 189 is going to help reduce costs and protect 
taxpayers against wasteful spending.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) for her work on this bill. The legislation was agreed to 
in the House last Congress under suspension of the rules, so I look 
forward to seeing that happen again.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the bill, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 189.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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