GSA Leads 22 Cabinet & Federal Agencies in Calling on Congress to Provide Full Access to the Federal Buildings Fund

22 Federal Agencies Show Unprecedented Support for GSA’s Legislative Priorities 

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), joined by 22 Cabinet Departments and Federal Agencies, sent a letter [PDF - 1022 KB] to Congressional leaders in both chambers advocating for full access to the Federal Buildings Fund (FBF), while also requesting the authority to increase from $3.96 million to $75 million. These legislative priorities will ensure GSA can have the necessary funding to successfully execute its role as the steward of the Federal real estate portfolio.

In a nearly unprecedented show of solidarity, the GSA was joined by over 20 department and agency leaders. All are calling on Congress to take action to ensure the real estate arm of the government has the necessary funds to preserve and repair our nation’s assets and American icons. 

“This is an overwhelming show of support among agencies for a common-sense measure that will give GSA the resources we need to deliver results for our agency partners and American taxpayers,” said GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst. “President Trump wants to fortify the Federal footprint, and with full access to these funds, we will do just that.”

Those who signed the letter include: Edward C. Forst, Administrator of the General Services Administration and Acting Archivist of the United States National Archives and Records Administration, Russell T. Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Brooke L. Rollins, Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Howard W. Lutnick, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Linda E. McMahon, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, Christopher A. Wright, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Scott Turner, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Douglas J. Burgum, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, Patrick D. Davis, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice, Keith E. Sonderling, Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Marco A. Rubio, Secretary of State for the U.S. Department of State, Sean P. Duffy, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Scott Bessent Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury, Douglas A. Collins, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Lee M. Zeldin, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clinton Jones, General Counsel, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Jared Isaacman, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Scott Kupor, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Paul S. Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Frank J. Bisignano, Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration. 

Click HERE [PDF - 1022 KB] or see below for the full letter. 

LETTER TEXT:

May 21, 2026  

The Honorable Mike Johnson 
Speaker of the House of Representatives 
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John Thune 
Majority Leader 
United States Senate 
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries 
Minority Leader 
House of Representatives 
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Chuck Schumer 
Minority Leader 
United States Senate 
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Thune, and Minority Leaders Jeffries and Schumer: 

We write to express our unqualified support for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to receive full annual access to the entirety of its Federal Buildings Fund (FBF), as proposed in the President’s 2027 Budget. This full access is particularly important for the Major and Minor Repairs and Alterations (R&A) allocations. The FBF capital program is intended for reinvestment into GSA’s federally owned facilities, but it has been chronically underfunded since 2011 by more than $15.6 billion. Furthermore, we advocate for increasing the current prospectus threshold, which is currently capped at $3.96 million in fiscal year 2026, to $75 million for routine and emergency maintenance and $10 million for all other prospectus transactions. This increase is essential for providing GSA with the necessary flexibility to invest in and execute timely repairs within our various departments’ and agencies’ workspaces. As we look toward America’s 250th anniversary, the time is now to ensure that our Federal buildings operate with the utmost safety and efficiency to showcase America’s beauty and support critically important Federal missions. 

Despite the rental payments made to GSA by Federal departments and agencies, GSA is consistently unable to access requisite R&A funding due to persistent underfunding by Congress. Consequently, cyclical reinvestment to maintain federally owned facilities in a state of good repair has become a luxury—rather than a necessity. As we seek to do more with less and ensure that Americans’ scarce tax dollars are spent wisely, GSA should be able to access the entirety of its FBF annual agency rent receipts to perform work that Federal tenants believe will be addressed by virtue of our providing timely rental payments. Many of the undersigned departments and agencies receive appropriations to pay operational expenses, such as rent, to ensure that critical problems are timely repaired. Providing GSA full access to FBF annual receipts will ensure timely repairs and consistent cyclical reinvestment, thereby preventing the accumulation of delinquent maintenance backlogs.  

The inability to secure sufficient R&A funding has significantly impeded our efforts to reduce the Federal real estate portfolio through consolidation and optimization. Full annual FBF access and an increased prospectus threshold would facilitate routine maintenance, crucial life-safety improvements, and infrastructure upgrades. This would provide a resilient and efficient workplace environment, enabling the execution of our mission-critical work. 

To move forward with expediency, we must—in tandem with full annual FBF access—raise the prospectus threshold for routine maintenance issues above $3.96 million, which many of us exceed with elevator or roof repairs, as examples. An increased GSA prospectus threshold will accelerate routine maintenance, reduce the backlog of delinquent maintenance projects, eliminate the protracted prospectus process for smaller projects, focus on larger, more complex transactions and expedite tenant relocation and space alterations that support asset disposal and optimization efforts. These improvements will also assist our Federal agencies in avoiding costly holdover actions by facilitating the timely acquisition of rightsized leased space.  

GSA should be able to unlock its potential and pivot to meet the needs of its clients and ensure GSA is delivering on its mission of being good stewards of their portfolio and precious taxpayer dollars through full annual access to GSA’s FBF and an increased prospectus threshold. This will help us mitigate the compounding of delinquent maintenance within the GSA’s federally owned facilities, ensuring our Federal departments and agencies operate with greater efficiency and long-term cost savings.  

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government. GSA manages a nationwide real estate portfolio of approximately 360 million rentable square feet, oversees more than $126 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivers technology services to millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver exceptional customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.