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For the Press

For all media inquiries — please contact Mr. Ray Weiss, Pugh and Tiller PR rweiss@pughandtillerpr.com

Background on the PBRB

Because there has been some confusion and misunderstanding about the work being done by the Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) and other federal agencies which play a role in the oversight of the federal real estate portfolio, we have attempted to provide a brief overview of the role being played by PBRB, its responsibilities, and work it has done to date.   

PBRB’s Role and Responsibilities

  • Recognizing that there is a vast oversupply of poorly maintained, expensive, and underutilized federal office space – and that Congress cannot appropriate its way out of the capital expenditures accruing to the U.S. taxpayer from owning, leasing, and maintaining these properties – Congress passed the Federal Assets Safe and Transfer Act of 2016 (FASTA).
  • Among other initiatives, FASTA established the Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) in 2019 as an independent, bipartisan agency whose sole mission is to identify and recommend federal properties for sale, and to make recommendations for how to streamline the disposal process for those properties. 
  • PBRB’ recommendations for reducing the federal real estate portfolio offer a rare opportunity to yield triple bottom line benefits:
  • Selling federal buildings that are underused, in disrepair, or vacant will save U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars currently being paid for day-to-day operations and deferred maintenance.
  • Federal employees will be able to consolidate operations and work in modernized spaces that are safer, healthier, and more supportive of their day-to-day activities.
  • Buildings that are underused can be returned to their respective communities and developed to meet top community needs, which in turn enables municipalities to realize taxes on those properties (since federal properties don’t pay taxes to local municipalities).
  • PBRB has worked with commercial real estate firm Jones Lang Lasalle to analyze and identify the costs associated with the current federal real estate portfolio in selected markets and modeled the cost savings that could be achieved through various actions, such as consolidations into leased spaces and dispositions.
  • To date, PBRB has identified and recommended disposal of properties worth more than $450 million.
    • In its first report (the High Value Asset Report, issued in 2020), PBRB recommended 12 properties for disposal, of which 10 have been sold to date for a total of $193 million.
    • In its second report (the First Round Report, issued in 2021), PBRB recommended 15 additional properties for dispositions, worth approximately $275 million.
    • PBRB’s Second Round Report will be issued this year.
    • A third round of property divestment recommendations will be issued in 2026.
  • Money from the sale of federal properties recommended by PBRB and approved by OMB is received by the Asset Proceeds and Space Management Fund (which like PBRB was established by FASTA). GSA then has the authority to seek appropriations and spend those funds in preparation for further consolidations and dispositions under FASTA. Net proceeds from a disposition are retained by the federal agency owning the property at the time of its declared excess.
  • Under the Public Buildings Reform Legislation of 2025, PBRB will sunset on December 31, 2026.

Outside PBRB’s Purview

  • PBRB does not sell federal properties, nor does it dictate the use of property once it has been sold. While PBRB is empowered to provide expertise and recommendations to the federal government and Congress based on its best use analyses of the federal real property portfolio, it does not have decision-making power with respect to final consolidation, disposition, use, or redevelopment of these sites.
  • PBRB is not part of DOGE. PBRB was created under FASTA as an independent, bipartisan agency whose sole mission is to identify and recommend federal properties for sale, and to make recommendations for how to streamline the disposal process. Any pronouncements regarding federal buildings made by DOGE are independent of PBRB and not made in consultation with PBRB.    
  • PBRB is not a part of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) nor the General Services Administration (GSA). PBRB’s recommendations are made with the expectation that Congress, GSA, OMB, and all other federal agencies will become much more active in seizing the opportunity presented by the current circumstances to consolidate and improve the federal real property portfolio.

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