How Much Does it Cost to Move an Agency?

By Charles S. Clark

Miffed at a score from the Congressional Budget Office, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., is redrafting his legislation to move the Federal Trade Commission out of its offices at the prestigious intersection of Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues.

Mica's longtime goal of creating more exhibit space for the National Gallery of Art by evicting the FTC from ornate quarters it has occupied since New Deal days hit a roadblock in April when CBO calculated the net cost of implementing the moves at $270 million during 2012-2016. Building a new structure in the long run is less expensive than leasing, CBO analysts said.

In a just-released May 2 letter of rebuttal sent to CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf, Mica, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said: "The cost estimate is based entirely on the incorrect assumption that the General Services Administration would construct a new 650,000-square-foot headquarters capable of housing 2,000 personnel. H.R. 1690, in fact, simply requires GSA to relocate 450 federal employees, who occupy nearly 160,000 usable square feet in the nearly 80-year-old Apex Building. The legislation quite specifically enumerates viable GSA-owned locations in which to house these employees."

Mica also faulted CBO for not counting the savings that would accrue to the government by canceling plans to renovate the current FTC building and instead allowing the Art Gallery to revamp it using private funds.