Washington, DC – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01) introduced the Outlease Reform in Public Buildings (OUR Public Buildings) Act. This legislation prohibits the General Services Administration (GSA) from entering into an outlease with a current President, Vice President, Member of Congress, or head of an executive agency.

“The Trump hotel in Washington, D.C. has always presented a clear conflict of interest,” said Rep. Titus. “We need greater accountability and reform of the outleasing program. My legislation would ensure that no future President can benefit from this kind of arrangement ever again.”

“When our government leases out assets, there must be strong and clear guardrails in place to avoid conflicts of interest,” Chair DeFazio said. “The legislation we are introducing today will ensure that future leases have the transparency and accountability needed to avoid the type of egregious conflict we saw with the Trump Hotel.”

In December 2021, Chair DeFazio and Subcommittee Chair Titus released the report Problems on Pennsylvania Avenue which addressed multiple concerns with the GSA’s outleasing process, particularly as it related to the Old Post Office Building and the Trump Organization.

The report identified multiple legislative remedies that form the basis of this legislation which will ensure the outlease process serves the public interest.

Background

The OUR Public Buildings Act would:

• Prohibit the GSA from entering into an outlease with a current President, Vice President, Member of Congress, or head of an executive agency.
• Require the GSA Office of General Counsel to certify in writing that the lessor does not hold one of the aforementioned positions.
• These provisions will not only settle legal and ethical ambiguities with future “Interested Parties” clauses, but also hold GSA accountable for future agreements.
• Establish a Congressional review period and process for approving an outlease agreement.
• Implement standard clauses in covered outlease agreements requiring tenants to disclose foreign ownership.
• This will assist GSA in protecting “high-security leased spaces” which make up about 16 percent of existing leases.
  

Full text of the bill can be found here.

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