A comprehensive spending bill for the rest of fiscal 2023 outlines a plan for federal buildings. The fiscal 2023 omnibus spending bill Congress released recently directs the General Services Administration (GSA) to further consolidate office space for the federal workforce, seeks to harden the security of federal buildings and supports the goal to make all federal buildings achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.
Among the highlights:
GSA and the federal workspace. The omnibus language advances the Biden administration’s plans to save money by shrinking the federal portfolio of office space. The omnibus spending bill directs GSA to provide regular briefings on the way agencies can reduce their office space requirements based on the lessons learned from the use of telework during the pandemic. GSA is setting its own goals to consolidate federal office space, and helping agencies support hybrid and remote workforces.
Federal building security. The spending bill grants more than $2 billion to the Federal Protective Service, a fee-funded agency, to install security cameras and alarm systems at federal buildings owned by GSA. Congress is issuing the spending as part of a heavily redacted audit from the GSA inspector general’s office on the state of security cameras and alarms at federal buildings.
Lower carbon emissions. The comprehensive spending bill also gives GSA further guidance to implement the Biden’s administration’s green government goals. Biden signed an executive order a year ago for agencies to make the federal building portfolio zero-emission by 2045 and reach a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2032. It also directs agencies to make federal buildings more energy and water-efficient, as well as more resilient against climate change.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor of the facilities market. He has more than 25 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
