At a House hearing today, Republicans will press the Obama Administration for a "master list" of federal property, as the GOP looks for ways to sell off items that might help ease the budget deficit.
Leading the effort has been Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), a freshman Republican who argues that it makes no sense for the feds to hang on to property - whether land, buildings or anything else - that isn't being used, or which might fetch a nice price tag on the market.
“According to the Federal Real Property Council, in fiscal year 2009, the federal government spent $1.7 billion in annual operating costs for underutilized buildings and $134 million, annually, for excess buildings," Denham said at a hearing last month.
That hearing was held in what's known as the Annex of the "Old Post Office Building," which sits unused on Pennsylvania Avenue, just a few blocks from the White House.
Denham made clear then that he wants a full accounting from the feds - specifically the General Services Administration, which is in charge of government property - to find out what Uncle Sam has, and whether some of it should be cut loose.
As of earlier this week, the GSA still had not responded to Denham's demand for that list - we'll see if it gets produced today or not.
Meanwhile, a hearing yesterday touched on some of the same issues that will be raised today, as an official who helps to deal with such issues acknowledged to lawmakers that even if property is identified for sale, it doesn't always happen.
"The process we have today is somewhat bureaucratic," said Daniel Werfel, who is with the Office of Management and Budget.
"That's a surprise," said Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) in a sarcastic voice, as Werfel went on to detail how red tape usually means it takes one to two years for the feds to get property ready for sale.
Lankford then detailed how his district office in Oklahoma has an example that makes two years look like nothing.
"There's an IBM Selectric typewriter that has apparently been there a very long time that they are trying to work out of inventory," Lankford said with a note of frustration.
But while Lankford and other Republicans pushed for quicker disposal of unused buildings and property, several Democrats pushed back, arguing the feds could take a financial bath if they too quickly try to sell off things that don't seem needed now.
We'll see where the property issues goes today in the House.
