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Part of GSA manages 40 percent of government office space.

How could the USE IT Act and GAO review affect the federal government's real estate operations?

Likely What happens if… A possibility worth considering, not a forecast.

The federal government may face significant cost savings by downsizing underutilized office space. The USE IT Act requires federal agencies to demonstrate that their buildings maintain at least a 60% utilization rate, or they must develop plans to downsize their office space. This mandate is driving decisions across the federal government to consolidate or dispose of underutilized assets, which is expected to result in millions of dollars in cost savings. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has flagged that gaps in the initial data collection, such as the exclusion of fully vacant spaces, give agencies an incomplete understanding of their true real estate footprint.

Reported by 1 independent outlet Written Thursday
Effect
Strong negative
How direct
Stated in the reporting
When
Within months
The story
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How it reaches federal government

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The facts so far

As reported. Each one links to where it comes from.

  • The legislation requires agencies to demonstrate that their buildings meet at least a 60% utilization rate or develop plans to downsize their office space.govexec.com
  • Agencies spend billions of dollars annually to operate and maintain federal buildings.govexec.com
  • GSA’s initial USE IT Act data shows thousands of federal buildings haven’t met the 60% utilization benchmark.govexec.com
  • GAO found that 155 fully vacant buildings and leased spaces covering 4.6 million total usable square were not included in GSA's initial USE IT Act reporting.govexec.com

Why it matters

The federal government manages a vast real estate portfolio, and the operational costs associated with maintaining these buildings run into billions of dollars annually. The USE IT Act represents a major push for efficiency, forcing agencies to justify their physical footprint and potentially leading to significant cost reductions through consolidation and disposal of underutilized assets.

This focus on utilization is not new; the GAO has flagged the issue of underutilized federal buildings as a high-risk issue for more than 20 years. However, the pandemic era's work-from-home policies made this issue more prominent, and the current review by the GAO highlights systemic data gaps that complicate the government's ability to make accurate, large-scale property decisions.

What we don't know yet

  • How will the governmentwide Federal Real Property Council address the concerns about data collection and reporting guidelines raised by agencies?
  • What specific steps will be taken to include all vacant, GSA-controlled owned and leased office spaces in the utilization calculations?

What would change this answer

The GAO and the Federal Real Property Council successfully resolve the data gaps and reporting concerns.The federal government will be able to implement downsizing decisions with greater certainty, leading to more predictable and potentially larger cost savings.
Agencies continue to prefer relying on their own internal metrics over the USE IT Act data.The mandated utilization rate of 60% may not be uniformly applied, slowing the pace of consolidation and disposal decisions.

Who else could feel it

Other possible ripples from the same event.

Reporting

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The full eventUSE IT Act Mandates Utilization Review of Federal Real Estate Everything aboutfederal government

Brind's analysis is written by AI from the reporting linked above and can be wrong. This explainer is a possibility worth considering, not a forecast: steps marked as Brind's reasoning are not stated in the reporting. It is not investment advice; do your own research.