U.S. House Committee to Hold Hearing in Miami, Fla. on $51 Million Wasted Annually on Empty Federal Buildings
WASHINGTON – Rep. John Mica (FL-07), the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, will conduct a field hearing in Miami, Fla. on Friday, March 8th to continue his examination of underperforming or vacant properties owned by the federal government.
The federal government constructed 33 new courthouses between 2000 and 2010. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal government built 3.5 million square feet more than it needed. The unnecessary space cost $835 million to construct and now costs taxpayers $51 million annually to maintain.
The hearing will highlight the continued problems with space utilization and overbuilding in federal courthouses, using the David W. Dyer Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse as a case study.
The Dyer Courthouse, which has been vacant since 2008, was the site of an August 6, 2012 hearing conducted by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management on vacant and underutilized federal buildings.
Last week, the Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing on the GAO’s inclusion of federal real property management on their most recent High-Risk List.
Hearing Details:
Friday, March 8, 2013
“Addressing Unused and Vacant Federal Courthouses: A Case Study in Miami-Dade, Florida”
Subcommittee on Government Operations, Chairman John Mica (R-FL)
2:30 p.m. in Chapman Conference Room, Miami-Dade College – Wolfson Campus
300 N.E. 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33132
Attending Members:
Rep. John Mica (FL-07)
Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06)
Witnesses:
Mr. John Smith
Regional Commissioner, Public Building Service
General Services Administration
Mr. Mark L. Goldstein
Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues
Government Accountability Office
Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón
President
Miami Dade College