Senator Rob Portman Press Release:

July 31, 2013

Portman, Johnson Push GSA to Speed Up Sale of Excess Federal Property in Washington Co.

Move Would Allow Community To Use Property To Create Needed Jobs In Region

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Representative Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) have co-authored a letter to the General Services Administration (GSA) in an effort to speed up the sale of an abandoned federal property to the Southeast Ohio Port Authority (SEOPA). The move will allow the Port Authority to sell the property to private investors, which would convert the unused property into a veterans memorial and business park, which would provide a community benefit and create much-needed jobs.

“As families across Southeast Ohio continue to struggle amid a weak economy, speeding up the sale of the Washington County Memorial U.S. Army Forces Reserve Center, an excess federal property in Reno, to help rejuvenate the economy and create jobs should be a bipartisan no-brainer,” said Portman.  “Earlier this week, I cosponsored the Federal Real Property Asset Management Reform Act of 2013, bipartisan legislation to rein in government spending by reforming the federal government’s bureaucratic real property procedures.  The government spends billions of dollars to maintain tens of thousands of excess or underutilized properties across the country.  This is an unnecessary drain on the public purse, and we can realize major savings simply by subjecting costly government leases to greater scrutiny and by accelerating the sale of surplus and excess property in Reno and across the state of Ohio. I appreciate Congressman Johnson’s leadership on this issue and look forward to working together to ensure that this important project come to fruition.”

“The transition of the former Washington County Memorial U.S. Army Forces Reserve Center in Reno to a job-creating facility will create sorely needed jobs in Southeastern Ohio,” said Johnson.  “Working with the SEOPA and the Washington County Commissioners over the last couple years, we have gathered an overwhelming amount of community support to proceed with this sale, which will have a constructive, lasting impact on our community. It is also very appropriate that a memorial to America’s true heroes – our veterans – would be located at the former Army Reserve Center.”

Johnson added, “I thank Senator Portman for joining me in the effort to cut through bureaucratic red tape in order to see this project to completion. His actions illustrate that he understands the vast benefits this project represents.”

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has declared the Washington County Memorial U.S. Army Forces Reserve Center in Reno as excess property, and therefore no longer mission-critical to federal agencies. The disposal of this underused federal property is currently underway with the GSA. The SEOPA has voted to enter into a public-private partnership to broker the sale.

In May of 2012, Portman and Johnson worked closely together to successfully push the GSA to speed up a similar sale of excess federal property in Belmont County, which resulted in the creation of jobs along the Ohio River.

The federal government owns over one million properties across the county, making it the largest property owner in the United States. In fact, every year since January 2003, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has placed real property management on its list of "high risk" government activities, citing long-standing problems with: excess and underutilized property; deteriorating and aging facilities; unreliable property data; and, a heavy reliance on costly leasing instead of ownership to meet new needs. In fiscal year 2009, 24 federal agencies reported that they possessed more than 14,000 excess and 45,000 underutilized buildings that cost more than $1.7 billion annually to operate.