GSA celebrates 75th anniversary

WASHINGTON — The U. S. General Services Administration (GSA) will celebrate its 75th anniversary on Monday, July 1 at 4 p.m. CDT with a moderated conversation at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, MO. 

“For the last 75 years, GSA has delivered outstanding customer experience and the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and American people,” said Administrator Carnahan. “I’m proud to work alongside thousands of dedicated public servants who are committed to making government work better for the people we serve and saving money while doing it.” 

President Harry S. Truman established GSA on July 1, 1949 by consolidating various federal agencies to streamline administrative tasks. GSA’s original mission was to dispose of war surplus goods, manage and store government records, handle emergency preparedness, stockpile strategic supplies for wartime, and regulate the sale of various office supplies to federal agencies. Today, GSA’s mission has evolved “To deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people.”

Today GSA is playing a leading role in the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to modernize government technology, tackle the climate crisis, and expand access to the federal marketplace. GSA was recently recognized as the second best place to work among mid-sized agencies, and crossed the $100 billion mark for annual contracts. GSA also invested $2 billion Inflation Reduction Act funds for more than 150 construction projects that use cleaner low-embodied carbon construction materials, and invested $1 billion to upgrade federal buildings across the country with emerging and sustainable technologies, resulting in 100 more buildings becoming all-electric.

A discussion between GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan and Truman Library’s Supervisory Archivist Sam Rushay will discuss the historic creation of GSA and its accomplishments over the last 75 years.

President Biden thanked past and present employees of GSA in a letter to honor GSA’s 75th anniversary. A recording of the event will be published on GSA’s YouTube channel the week following the event. 

For more information, check out GSA’s 75th anniversary web page. To register for the event at the Truman Library, register at TrumanLibraryInstitute.org/Events.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing approximately $100 billion in annual contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow @USGSA.