President Trump's 2021 budget proposes funding for projects in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Indianapolis

February 10, 2020

CHICAGO - U.S. General Services Administration Administrator Emily Murphy today announced key investments that are a part of the fiscal year 2021 President’s Budget Request. The proposed $21.3 billion gross budget ($868 million net budget) for GSA reflects the administration’s commitment to strategic investments in our nation’s real property management, modernizing the government’s information technology services, simplifying government procurement, and expanding the shared services delivered throughout government.

“The continued investment into GSA’s portfolio provides opportunities for savings both for our agency partners and the American people,” said Administrator Murphy. “Looking forward to FY21, GSA will be making strategic capital investments that lead to a reduction in costly leased space, streamlining and standardizing the federal payroll systems through NewPay, and moving agencies from antiquated legacy systems to more secure, efficient, and modern platforms.”
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The FY21 budget request includes:

Investments in real property infrastructure and management:

• $10.4 billion for the Federal Buildings Fund to maintain and operate the GSA real estate portfolio, including:
  • $2.1 billion for capital investments, which includes $1.4 billion for repairs and alterations to improve space utilization, safety, and condition of government-owned assets and $762 million in new construction to support the critically important missions of agencies.
  • $2.5 billion investment in building operations to maintain service and support for federal tenants and provide prudent management of real estate, including leased and owned space.
  • $5.7 billion to maintain the government’s commitments in space that GSA leases from private industry on behalf of federal customers.
  • In the Great Lakes Region, GSA proposes:
    • $80.1 million to provide, either through acquisition of and repairs to an existing building or the acquisition of a site and construction, a new field office for the Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation in Cleveland. The proposed acquisition or construction will reduce the government’s rental payment to the private sector by approximately $6 million annually.
    • $28.6 million for a repair and alteration project to complete, repair, and expand the plaza system at the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland. The project proposes to repair the plaza to eliminate water leaks and infiltration into the lower levels of the building.
    • $124.4 million for a repair and alteration project to optimize the utilization of space and correct major building deficiencies in the Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building in Chicago. The project will consolidate and relocate federal agencies from leased space, resulting in approximately $3.7 million in annual lease cost avoidance and an annual agency rent savings of $1.75 million. The project will also upgrade the building’s heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, conveyance, elevators, plumbing, and fire protection systems, and will improve building common services.
    • $37.5 million for a consolidation project at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in Cincinnati. The project will decrease the federal government’s reliance on leased space, reduce federally owned vacant space, and improve space utilization in the courthouse. Approximately $1.1 million in annual lease costs will be avoided, with savings of approximately $110,000 in annual agency rent payments.
    • $42.1 million for a repair and alteration project for the Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in Indianapolis. The proposed project will complete critical repairs and upgrades to the building’s exterior and portions of the roof, repair the window systems and interior walls, and replace the building’s cooling tower. Additional design is required for the repairs to the building’s windows as well as for the correction of resulting ongoing water infiltration and interior damage.
    • $18.4 million for a repair and alteration project to undertake structural and related system upgrades of the parking garage at the Minton-Capehart Federal Building in Indianapolis. The garage is over 40 years old and in need of a major renovation.
• $31 million to support the Asset Proceeds and Space Management Fund for implementation of the recommendations of the Public Buildings Reform Board established in the Federal Assets Sales and Transfer Act.
• $10 billion to the Federal Capital Revolving Fund to finance capital projects for any landholding or land-managing agency.

Support for the government’s development of innovative technology:

• $150 million for the Technology Modernization Fund will continue to provide up-front funding for IT projects to move agencies from antiquated legacy systems to more secure modern platforms in accordance with the Modernizing Government Technology Act.
• $58.4 million to support the Federal Citizens Service Fund, including funding for the Cloud Portfolio, which assists federal agencies with using cloud technologies and promotes FedRAMP-authorized cloud services to reduce duplicative and divergent security requirement costs.
• Maintain progress on GSA’s Robotics Process Automation program, which has led to 70,000 hours of recaptured work hours across GSA, and introduce Intelligent Automation to drive even more efficiencies across GSA.

Expansion of shared services:

• $20 million to transition government agencies to GSA’s NewPay payroll software as a service solution.
• A joint request with the Office of Personnel Management, which reflects the administration’s legislative proposal to merge OPM’s transactional and consultative services into GSA.
• $8.5 million in interagency contributions to streamline and modernize the federal rule-making process.

Additional Resources:

FY21 Congressional Justification