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Reducing the footprint: The push to optimize government office space

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4 months ago

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What: Issuing of OMB Reduce the Footprint memo
When: OMB issued its “reduce the footprint” policy in March 2015, after ordering a freeze of federal office space two years earlier.
Why it matters: This policy was the first time OMB set a government policy to use property as efficiently as possible, and for agencies to set annual reduction targets.
To celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2025, we’re spotlighting 25 pivotal moments that reshaped the way the government operates. Visit our anniversary page each week as we look back on these defining moments.

The federal government remains the largest owner of real estate in the country. The General Services Administration, which oversees office space for most agencies, manages more than 360 million square feet of building space.

Multiple administrations have spent more than 20 years trying to rein in the size of the federal real estate portfolio and the cost of maintaining it. Those efforts gained momentum under the Obama administration. In 2013, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo freezing the federal real estate footprint.

Two years later, it released a “reduce the footprint” policy, focused in part on the disposal of excess and underutilized federal property. This 2015 policy was the first time OMB set a government policy to use property as efficiently as possible, and for agencies to set annual reduction targets.

Former officials who oversaw federal real estate said the Obama administration’s policies reflected decades of previous efforts to address a growing sprawl of real estate, and reflected how technology was reshaping the work of federal employees.

Many of the same office-space debates that happened under the Obama administration are still happening in the present day, as agencies readjust their office space needs to federal employees accustomed to workplace flexibilities like telework.

Norman Dong, former Public Buildings Service commissioner in GSA under the Obama administration, said the government’s growing office space portfolio got more attention in 2003, when the Government Accountability Office added federal real property management to its High-Risk List.

“They recognized how the federal real estate footprint was just continuing to grow, and something else they recognized was that the government doesn’t even know how many owned and leased properties it has, so it just seemed to be out of control,” Dong said.

Bob Peck, another former PBS commissioner under the Obama administration, said federal occupancy of federal office buildings hovered around 70% when he joined government during the Clinton administration.

“Even then, we knew there was more square footage per person in the GSA inventory than was warranted by the number of people we had,” Peck said. “In the federal government, people don’t necessarily get paid what they’re worth. But one way you can express your status is by the size of your office. People aspire, over the course of their career, to getting promoted. And one thing about being promoted is you get an office — or you get a bigger office.”

The George W. Bush administration launched the Federal Real Property Council, comprised of senior leaders at OMB and GSA, as well as GSA agency senior property officers. The administration also required agencies to keep an inventory of their office space holdings through the Federal Real Property Profile.

“Even before 2012, when the Freeze the Footprint memo came out, you saw almost a decade of activity before that, where the federal government was just struggling to get its arms around this issue,” Dong said.

By 2015, federal civilian agencies held more than 300,000 buildings requiring $21 billion in annual operation and maintenance costs, as well as $6.8 billion in annual lease costs.

“The federal government must continue to improve its management and use of federal assets to maximize the use of scarce budgetary resources in order to improve the efficiency and reduce costs associated with federal office and warehouse usage,” OMB wrote in its 2015-2020 national strategy for efficient use of real property.

Dong said the Obama administration’s efforts created “heightened awareness across the federal government about the need to improve space utilization.”

Agencies accelerated the disposal of federally owned buildings after the “reduce the footprint” memo. In 2015 and 2016, the federal government disposed of nearly 6,000 buildings. However, those disposal efforts diminished in the following years.

“The surplus property that we really have in the federal government is not what’s designated surplus or underutilized in the federal real property inventory that GSA maintains. It’s in the buildings that we call occupied,” Peck said.

Those policies also came at a time when more federal employees received cell phones and laptops, and were no longer tethered to their offices to do their jobs.

“A lot of federal office space looked like the 1950s, and the world had moved on. We were in a digital world,” Peck said. “It was a very different world. We started talking about, ‘Let’s take a look at how much of the space we really use.’”

But downsizing federal office space doesn’t happen overnight. Peck said it became a challenge for agencies to explain to OMB that they needed more money upfront to move into consolidated spaces.

“The thing that was really successful about it was that it got people into a different mindset about what are the right numbers,” he said. “If a space request came up through the bureaucracy, and landed on somebody’s desk and it said, ‘We’re going to get 250 square feet person,’ somebody would say, ‘You know, probably not going to happen.’”

Under the Obama administration, GSA set a limit of 136 usable square feet per person in federal workspaces. Peck, however, said the policy set a “one-size-fits-all policy” for a wide variety of jobs across the government.

“This is my regret about what with Freeze the Footprint: People say, ‘There’s a number that we should just make everybody adhere to.’ But what works for a courthouse doesn’t work for laboratories. Some agencies — let’s take law enforcement agencies — they don’t spend much time in their office at all.”

Dong said agencies generally complied with the Obama administration’s policies, as intended. However, he recalled once visiting a GSA field office in the Midwest that was following the standard to the detriment of its day-to-day work.

“They took pride in meeting the 136 square foot per person space standard. However, they no longer had sufficient space to support the employee badging function in that federal building, nor did they have any space to take a private phone call. So you met the space design standard, but you lost sight of good judgment and common sense. So I think part of it is sometimes when there’s such a rigid adherence to government policy, just for the sake of compliance, you see some things that don’t make sense,” Dong said.

The post Reducing the footprint: The push to optimize government office space first appeared on Federal News Network.

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GOP Senator John Thune Quietly BLOCKS Trump Recess Appointments with Sneaky Procedural Maneuver — Launches Series of Pro Forma Sessions to Keep Senate in Fake “Session” During August Recess

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20 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R‑SD) has unveiled a procedural scheme to block President Donald Trump from making any critical appointments during the August recess, effectively aiding the Democrats’ obstructionist agenda.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the president can make “recess appointments,” temporary appointments to federal positions, if the Senate is in recess and not conducting business. These appointments don’t require immediate Senate confirmation and can last until the end of the next session of Congress.

But there’s a loophole: if the Senate holds pro forma sessions, very short, symbolic meetings where no actual business is conducted, then technically, the Senate is still in session. That means the president cannot legally make recess appointments during that time.

John Thune has quietly secured unanimous‑consent for a paper‑thin Senate schedule through the Trump appointee confirmation deadline, ensuring only pro forma sessions on five key dates in early August.

Under the agreement, the chamber will adjourn after today’s business and reconvene without conducting any votes or business on:

  • Tue, Aug 5 – 1:00 p.m.
  • Fri, Aug 8 – 1:05 p.m.
  • Tue, Aug 12 – 8:00 a.m.
  • Fri, Aug 15 – 10:15 a.m.
  • Tue, Aug 19 – 10:00 a.m.
  • Fri, Aug 22 – 9:00 a.m.
  • Tue, Aug 26 – 12:00 p.m.
  • Fri, Aug 29 – 7:00 a.m.

WATCH:

Thune’s pro forma blueprint comes amid mounting pressure from Donald Trump, who has demanded the Senate remain open until all 150+ administration nominees are confirmed.

Under the Recess Appointments Clause, a president may only install nominees without Senate approval if both chambers are in formal recess for at least 10 days. By convening the Senate just long enough every few days, Thune blocks the possibility of Trump making unilateral appointees.

The Senate went into its August recess without confirming all of Trump’s pending judicial and district‑level appointments.

By the time lawmakers left town on Saturday evening, no deal had been reached to move dozens of Trump’s nominees, including U.S. district court picks, through final floor votes.

Only a small handful of nominees (such as Jeanine Pirro to be U.S. Attorney in D.C.) had advanced. Otherwise, nominees remained stalled in committees or waiting for cloture roll‑calls on the executive calendar.

Roughly 150–160 executive and judicial nominations, including over a dozen district court judges and U.S. attorney nominations, remained scheduled but unconfirmed.

The post GOP Senator John Thune Quietly BLOCKS Trump Recess Appointments with Sneaky Procedural Maneuver — Launches Series of Pro Forma Sessions to Keep Senate in Fake “Session” During August Recess appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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‘That’s What I Call Results!’: Trump Admin Saves Jobs, Kicks 1500 Non-English-Speaking Truckers Off the Road

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20 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed that there have been about 1,500 truck drivers who do not speak English taken off the roads as part of a push to ensure foreign truck drivers are not causing accidents.

Back in 2016, the Obama administration stopped enforcing English proficiency requirements for truckers, according to a report from The Daily Signal.

But in May, Duffy issued a guidance making clear that truck drivers who cannot demonstrate a proficiency in English cannot drive.

The 1,500 drivers were taken off the roads within the first 3o days of the rules once more being enforced, according to The Daily Signal.

“Since I took action to enforce language proficiency requirements for truckers, our state partners have put roughly 1,500 unqualified drivers out of service. That’s what I call results!” Duffy posted on X.

“If you can’t read or speak our national language — ENGLISH — we won’t let your truck endanger the driving public.”

He added, “America First = Safety First.”

Duffy’s concerns were far from unfounded.

In January, there was a truck driver involved in a fatal crash that had to use a language interpreter for the post-crash investigation, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Another incident from 2019 involved a truck driver who could not proficiently speak English speeding through signs that warned of steep grades and dangerous curves, all at more than 100 miles per hour.

Four people died in that crash, per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

President Donald Trump had likewise insisted with an April executive order that the move centered on public safety.

“They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers,” the order said of truck drivers.

They also “need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English,” a position the order called “common sense.”

“It is the policy of my Administration to support America’s truckers and safeguard our roadways by enforcing the commonsense English-language requirement for commercial motor vehicle drivers and removing needless regulatory burdens that undermine the working conditions of America’s truck drivers,” the notice added.

“This order will help ensure a safe, secure, and efficient motor carrier industry.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post ‘That’s What I Call Results!’: Trump Admin Saves Jobs, Kicks 1500 Non-English-Speaking Truckers Off the Road appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Slovenia Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel, Citing Gaza Conflict

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20 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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via Wikimedia Commons

Slovenia has imposed an arms embargo on Israel, banning the export, import, and transit of weapons to and from the country.

This decision was announced by Prime Minister Robert Golob following a government session on July 31, 2025.

Slovenia claims to be the first European Union member to take such a step, citing the EU’s inability to act due to internal disagreements.

The government stated that no permits for military exports to Israel have been issued since October 2023, when the conflict in Gaza began.

Officials emphasized that the embargo is an independent measure to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Slovenia has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and increased aid deliveries to the region.

In early July 2025, Slovenia declared two Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, persona non grata, barring them from entry.

This action was based on their public statements regarding the conflict. Earlier, in June 2024, Slovenia recognized Palestinian statehood, joining countries like Ireland, Norway, and Spain in this move.

The conflict in Gaza started after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israeli territory, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and the taking of hostages.

Israel responded with a military operation aimed at dismantling Hamas infrastructure. Reports from Gaza’s health ministry indicate significant casualties, with ongoing international efforts to negotiate truces and provide aid.

Several other nations have taken similar diplomatic steps, including France, Britain, and Canada announcing potential recognition of a Palestinian state. Australia has also indicated that recognizing Palestinian statehood is under consideration.

Israel has criticized these declarations, arguing they could reward Hamas for its actions.

Israeli officials dismissed Slovenia’s embargo as insignificant, noting that Israel does not procure any defense materials from Slovenia.

An unnamed official stated that the country buys nothing from Slovenia, not even minor items.

Within the EU, there is growing pressure for measures against Israel, with Sweden and the Netherlands advocating for suspending parts of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

The European Commission has proposed limiting Israel’s participation in the Horizon research program, though Germany opposes such steps.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expressed concerns about Israel’s potential diplomatic isolation during a visit to Jerusalem.

The United States remains a key ally to Israel, with President Donald Trump warning that recognizing Palestinian statehood might benefit Hamas.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff recently met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance Gaza truce talks. These efforts aim to address the humanitarian crisis and secure a ceasefire.

The post Slovenia Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel, Citing Gaza Conflict appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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