Peters Bipartisan Bill to Save Taxpayer Dollars by Reusing Excess Federal Property Advances in Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) to hold agencies more accountable to the public on how they reuse excess personal property has advanced in the Senate. Federally-owned personal property includes physical items such as office supplies, furniture, automobiles, and heavy machinery. The federal government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world, and this bill would ensure agencies are looking to excess property – available at no cost apart from any necessary transportation – before buying new products to save taxpayer dollars. The bill was advanced by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee where Peters serves as Chair, and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

“The federal government is the largest purchaser of goods in the world, but some of these goods go unused by agencies. These purchases include office supplies, equipment, and vehicles – all property that could be reused within the federal government,” said Senator Peters. “My bipartisan bill would hold agencies more accountable by ensuring the use of pre-owned federal property, which would help save taxpayer dollars and limit waste.”

The Reuse Excess Property Act would update existing requirements for agencies to report their excess personal property to the General Services Administration (GSA) by making those reports available to the public as well. This would help agency officials and taxpayers better understand the extent to which agencies are working to cut wasteful spending through the use of excess property. The bill would also require agencies to publicly report on their guidance on the use of excess personal property and designate an employee to be responsible for searching through available excess personal property for items that meet agency needs. 

Peters has been a leader in efforts to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent effectively and efficiently. His bipartisan bill to streamline the federal property review process was signed into law. This law cuts down on wasteful government spending by requiring agencies to assess property more regularly to ensure property can be more frequently be declared as excess, and acquired by other federal offices where it is needed.

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