Marjorie Taylor Greene on Empty Federal Offices and Government Real Estate Waste

Federal Real Estate Inefficiency

• 🎯 The federal government owns over a quarter million buildings, with taxpayers spending approximately $10 billion annually on their operation and maintenance.
• ⚠️ A significant portion of these federal buildings were found to be less than 25% occupied during the Biden administration, even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 📈 The backlog for deferred maintenance on aging federal buildings grew from $216 billion to $370 billion between 2022 and 2024.

Wasteful Spending on Empty Spaces

• 💸 Taxpayers funded billions of dollars for wasteful empty office buildings and high-end furniture during the pandemic, despite federal workers remaining remote.
• 💡 The Biden administration signed a $250 million lease for a luxury office building for Voice of America, which lacked broadcasting capabilities and cost an additional $130 million for build-out.
• 💰 The FBI received $200 million for a new headquarters while federal agencies were criticized for maintaining large real estate empires at taxpayer expense.

Trump Administration Reforms

• 🚀 The Trump administration is taking action to reduce the size of the federal government and its real estate footprint, aiming for a 50% reduction in federally-owned real estate.
• 🔑 An executive order was issued instructing agencies to update property inventories and identify unneeded spaces.
• ✅ Nearly 700 federal leases totaling 7.9 million square feet have been canceled, saving taxpayers around $400 million.

Legislative Action and Future Outlook

• 🏛️ Congress passed a law requiring federal building occupancy tracking and the sale of low-occupancy buildings.
• 🤝 The current administration is seen as a willing partner to implement these laws and rightsize the federal real estate footprint.