Washington, D.C. – The following is the opening statement of U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ranking Member of the Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee, from today’s hearing on oversight of the $5.5 billion in stimulus funds authorized for the General Services Administration, the civilian landlord of the federal government.
Watch Rep. Diaz-Balart’s statement on YouTube.
“It seems we find ourselves having put the cart before the horse by passing legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, that contained no oversight – yet here we are demanding it – after the money is already out the door.
“We recently saw the consequences of hastily enacting significant legislation without oversight with the ongoing scandals resulting from the TARP.
“That said I would like to thank the Chairwoman for holding this hearing today to allow us some opportunity for oversight of the funds for GSA projects.
“The Recovery Act included $5.5 billion for the GSA Federal Building Fund.
“Considering this huge investment, we know that the potential for waste is enormous. Federal real property has been on the GAO’s high risk list since 2003. And, according to the GAO, long-standing problems in the federal real property area have multi-billion-dollar cost implications.
“The workload for GSA with regards to Federal buildings has tripled under this legislation creating more potential for mismanagement, waste, and cost over-runs.
“The last thing the American taxpayers want to see are projects started and not finished because costs are not managed appropriately or, for that matter, GSA returning to Congress to ask for additional taxpayer dollars because they wasted the nearly $6 billion we already provided them.
“At a hearing in January, the GAO recommended three guiding principles for GSA projects funded under the Recovery Act: (1) create well-defined goals based on identified areas of interest, (2) incorporate performance and accountability into funding decisions, and (3) employ the best tools and approaches to emphasize return on investment.
“None of these practical suggestions to help avoid wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars was incorporated into the Recovery Act. However, I am interested in knowing if GSA is employing these principles as it obligates and manages its funding.
“While the stated purpose of the Recovery Act was to stimulate jobs, the bill set aside $4.5 billion of the $5.5 billion to convert GSA facilities to High-Performance Green Buildings, as defined by Section 401 of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.
“Energy conservation is an important goal; however, ensuring tax dollars included in the bill are maximized to create jobs should be the primary goal of GSA. But, unfortunately, to date we have not been provided with the actual number of jobs created for each project funded.
“In addition, among the requirements of the Energy Act are reducing energy, water, and material resource use; improving indoor environmental quality, including acoustic environments; and considering the indoor and outdoor effects of the building.
“It is not even clear if the green building projects included in GSA’s spending plan will meet the high standards required by the Energy Act.
“I am pleased, Madam Chairwoman, that we are holding these oversight hearings as you committed to do.
“However, I remain concerned. There is still a tremendous potential for mismanagement and waste, and the number of jobs these projects will create has yet to be seen.
“While many of the projects may be worthy and even necessary, we must ensure that such large commitments of taxpayer dollars are properly used and managed. And we must ensure that the priority is job creation.”
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