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congressional subcommittee held a hearing on Wednesday to discuss the federal government's real estate portfolio, but key officials were absent. The General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service commissioner, Michael Peters, was invited but did not attend.

    Lawmakers expressed frustration and confusion over the administration's actions to slash the federal footprint, citing a lack of communication from the GSA. Rep. Greg Stanton said, "We need to provide oversight over this process." The subcommittee questioned two officials involved in the government's real estate decisions: David Marroni, director of physical infrastructure for the Government Accountability Office, and David Winstead, member of the Public Buildings Reform Board.

    The GSA released a list of 443 properties it was considering for disposition or lease cancellation, but later took it down. A spokesperson said it would be republished "in the near future." The Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency has added millions of square feet to its online database of lease cancellations.

    Lawmakers criticized the GSA and DOGE for creating chaos in the real estate market by proceeding without clear communication or strategy. Rep. Nellie Pou expressed concern over her state's Robert A. Roe Federal Building, which was on the disposition list despite receiving $5.8M in Inflation Reduction Act funds.

    The hearing revealed gaps in conversations between the GSA, DOGE, PBRB, and GAO. Marroni said he didn't know how PBS' Peters would have known that the GSA could reduce its portfolio by 50% without doing a utilization analysis. Winstead assumed that some buildings on the PBRB's list were on the GSA's 443-property list.

    Subcommittee members said they had laid out a clear path for the GSA to follow, but it was being ignored. Rep. Rick Larsen said, "Congress gave GSA Steps 1 through 5, but GSA is skipping from Step 1 directly to Step 5." Marroni and Winstead provided updates on their entities' involvement in federal footprint decisions.

    The PBRB is assessing around 50 assets for its next round of dispositions, which would save $18B over 30 years. Winstead mentioned the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles as an example of a property that may be on the list. Marroni said there are issues with how the GSA disposes of buildings and hopes the administration will move forward in a thoughtful and steady manner.