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Calendar No. 356
109th Congress Report
SENATE
2nd Session 109-214
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EMERGENCY LEASE REQUIREMENTS ACT OF 2005
_______
January 26, 2006.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Inhofe, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[to accompany S. 1708]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was
referred a bill (S. 1708) to modify requirements relating to
the authority of the Administrator of General Services to enter
into emergency leases during major disasters and other
emergencies, having considered the same reports favorably
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
General Statement and Background
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, one of the most
destructive natural disasters in our nation's history, struck
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the panhandle of Florida.
This hurricane affected a total of 83 properties in the General
Services Administration (GSA) inventory providing more than 3.1
million rentable square feet to house approximately 2,600
Federal employees from 28 different agencies (67 leased
locations totaling more than 1.3 million rentable square feet
and 16 owned locations totaling more than 1.7 million rentable
square feet).
Section 3307 of title 40, United States Code, details the
process by which the General Services Administration (GSA) is
granted authority to construct, alter or acquire any building
to be used as a public building or lease space for public
purposes. This process involves submission by GSA of a
prospectus for the project and resolutions of approval by both
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. A
prospectus is required only for projects exceeding a set cost,
however, although that set cost may be adjusted annually by the
Administrator to reflect increases or decreases in construction
costs. For leased space, the law sets the limit at an average
annual rental in excess of $1,500,000; the actual prospectus-
level cost for leased space in fiscal year 2005 is an average
annual rental in excess of $2,410,000.
Past experience with emergency leasing showed that a 6-
month lease term (180 days) for prospectus-level space was
unattainable, due to the reluctance of building owners to agree
to such short-term leases for office space with GSA because
competitors are able to offer longer lease terms. In addition
to this challenge posed by the market, circumstances arising
from natural disasters or other unforeseen events will likely
necessitate locating displaced Federal workers in emergency
housing solutions for greater than the currently allowed 180
days.
Objectives of the Legislation
S. 1708 modifies the requirements relating to the authority
of the Administrator of General Services to enter into
emergency leases during major disasters and other emergencies.
These modifications will ensure that the Administrator is able
to provide adequate space to house affected Federal tenants in
the wake of disasters.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title.
This section provides that this Act may be cited as the
``Emergency Lease Requirements Act of 2005''.
Sec. 2. Emergency leases.
This section amends 40 U.S.C. 3307(e) to include disasters
declared by heads of Federal agencies under applicable Federal
law, extend the maximum length of an emergency lease from not
more than 180 days to not more than 5 years and adds a
requirement for the Administrator to submit, by April 1 of each
year, to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure a
report describing any emergency lease entered into during the
preceding year.
Sec. 3. Effective date.
This section clarifies that this Act and the amendments
made by the Act affect only those leases entered into after
August 1, 2005.
Legislative History
On September 15, 2005, Senators Inhofe, Jeffords, Vitter,
Lieberman, Bond, Carper, Warner, Clinton, Chafee, Landrieu,
Murkowski and Thune introduced S. 1708, a bill to modify
requirements relating to the authority of the Administrator of
General Services to enter into emergency leases during major
disasters and other emergencies. The bill was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. The
committee met on November 17, 2005, to consider the bill. The
bill was ordered reported favorably without amendment by voice
vote.
Hearings
No committee hearings were held on S. 1708.
Roll Call Votes
The Committee on Environment and Public Works met to
consider S. 1708 on November 17, 2005. The bill was ordered
favorably reported by voice vote. No roll call votes were
taken.
Regulatory Impact Statement
In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee finds that S. 1708
does not create any additional regulatory burdens, nor will it
cause any adverse impact on the personal privacy of
individuals.
Mandates Assessment
In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Public Law 104-4), the committee finds that S. 1708 would
impose no Federal intergovernmental unfunded mandates on State,
local, or tribal governments.
Cost of Legislation
Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act requires that a statement of the cost of the
reported bill, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, be
included in the report. That statement follows:
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S. 1708, Emergency Lease Requirements Act of 2005, As ordered reported
by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on
November 17, 2005
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1708 would have no
significant impact on the Federal budget. Enacting the bill
would not affect direct spending or revenues. S. 1708 contains
no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the
budgets of State, local, or tribal governments.
Under current law, the General Services Administration
(GSA) is responsible for leasing privately owned properties for
use by Federal agencies. Spending for such activities is
subject to appropriation of the necessary amounts for annual
lease payments. Leases that are estimated to cost more than
$2.4 million must be approved by the congressional committees
with jurisdiction over GSA. During emergency situations,
however, GSA is authorized to agree to leases for up to 180
days without approval of the congressional committees with
jurisdiction over GSA.
S. 1708 would amend current law to allow GSA, following a
major disaster, to enter into emergency lease agreements of up
to 5 years without the approval of congressional committees
with jurisdiction over GSA. Based on information from GSA, CBO
estimates that the proposed change in leasing procedures would
not significantly affect GSA's current operations and spending
patterns. CBO expects that the bill would not have a
significant impact on spending for GSA leases following the
recent hurricanes in the Gulf coast. This legislation could
lead to faster Federal spending following disasters if the
Federal Government is forced to relocate operations to leased
space, however, any such spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
On November 14, 2005, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 4125, a bill to permit the Administrator of General
Services to make repairs and lease space without approval if
the repair or lease is required as a result of damages to
buildings or property attributable to Hurricane Katrina and
Rita, as ordered reported by the House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure on October 26, 2005. The two
pieces of legislation are similar in providing additional
emergency leasing authorities for GSA, but S. 1708 has broader
emergency leasing authorities. The cost estimates are
identical.
The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. This estimate
was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director
for Budget Analysis.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill
as reported are shown as follows: Existing law proposed to be
omitted is enclosed in [black brackets], new matter is printed
in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown
in roman:
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[40 U.S.C. 3307]
TITLE 40--PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PROPERTY, AND WORKS
SUBTITLE II--PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND WORKS
PART A--GENERAL
CHAPTER 33--ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, AND ALTERATION
SEC. 3307. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF PROPOSED PROJECTS
(a) Resolutions Required Before Appropriations May Be
Made.--
* * * * * * *
[(e) Emergency Leases by the Administrator.--This section
does not prevent the Administrator from entering into emergency
leases during any period declared by the President to require
emergency leasing authority. An emergency lease may not be for
more than 180 days without approval of a prospectus for the
lease in accordance with subsection (a).]
(e) Emergency Leases by the Administrator.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in this section prevents
the Administrator from entering into an emergency lease
during a major disaster or other emergency declared
by--
(A) the President under section 401 of the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); or
(B) the head of a Federal agency under
applicable Federal law.
(2) Lease term.--The term of an emergency lease
under this subsection shall be not more than 5 years,
unless the prospectus of the lease is approved under
subsection (a).
(3) Report.--Not later than April 1 of each year,
the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Environment and
Public Works of the Senate a report describing any
emergency lease entered into under this subsection
during the preceding fiscal year.
* * * * * * *
