Fed government spent eye-popping sums on furniture while many worked remotely, needed repairs stalled

The House Oversight Committee's subcommittee Delivering on Government Efficiency held a hearing on Tuesday examining how to reduce the amount of taxpayer funds going toward the "federal real estate portfolio."

The subcommittee, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), heard testimony from John Hart, the chief executive officer with Open the Books, and David Marroni, the acting director for the Government Accountability Office's Physical Infrastructure team.

'GAO found that these needs had more than doubled, from $170 billion to $370 billion between fiscal year 2017 and 2024.'

Hart revealed bombshell information in his opening statement pulled from an Open the Books investigation that found the federal government splurged $4.6 billion on furniture since fiscal year 2021. He noted that the amount was enough to purchase a "modest $500 kitchen table" for 9.2 million American families.

Hart shared more shocking figures, stating that the Department of State spent $1.4 million on artwork at embassies, including $200,000 on two paintings from "a contemporary abstract artist."

The U.S. Islamabad embassy spent $120,000 on 40 "high-end leather recliners," Hart told lawmakers.

"During the peak years of the COVID emergency, from 2020 to 2022, agencies spent $3.3 billion on furniture as work migrated to Zoom," Hart continued. "The Department of Transportation was among those least-attended agencies with 9% occupancy but still spent $55 million on furniture. The Department of Justice was among the agencies with an average of 35% attendance yet still managed to spend $408 million on furniture."

He noted that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency purchased "high-end Herman Miller furniture" for $250,000, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission managed to dish out $700,000 to furnish one conference room.

While the federal government was apparently throwing taxpayer cash at furniture upgrades, it failed to address the $370 billion in needed "fixes" and "long-term disrepair" at some facilities, Hart explained.

The massive figures shared by Hart seemed especially egregious when considering a 2024 GAO audit revealed that "more than half of federal employees were either teleworking regularly or fully remote." Additionally, the report stated that 17 of the 24 surveyed federal agencies utilized 25% or less of their headquarters facilities.

The GAO submitted testimony to the subcommittee, highlighting the federal government's "underused buildings," which it noted have cost taxpayers "millions of dollars."

"The federal government's annual maintenance and operating costs for its 277,000 buildings were about $10.3 billion in fiscal year 2023," it read. "Further, federal agencies have deferred maintenance and repairs on many buildings, creating a backlog. GAO found that these needs had more than doubled, from $170 billion to $370 billion between fiscal year 2017 and 2024."

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