Doge could force hundreds of federal offices to close this summer

This summer, federal agencies will start to leave hundreds of offices throughout the country under the crazy and extended pressure by advisers cutting out the budget of Elon Musk Finish the lease agreement That they say that you waste money.

The Muska Government Department maintains a list of canceled property of real estate on its website, but internal documents obtained by the Associated Press contain key details: when it is expected that this cancellation is expected. Documents from the inside of the Administration of General Services, Real Estate Manager of the US Government Dozens of federal offices and contracts for construction leasing It is expected to end by June 30, with hundreds of more in the coming months.

Alarms raised a quick rate of appeal, and some agencies and legislators refer to the dog for release of specific buildings. Several agencies are in the face of 20 or more dismissal of the lease agreement, including IRS, Social Insurance Administration, US Department of Agriculture and American geological examination.

Many solutions would affect agencies that are not so well known, but supervise key services for many Americans.

»Read more: Here’s what you should know about Doge, Elon Musk’s commission, which raises agencies and worries about Philly’s federal employees

Stretch from Boise, Idaho, offices of the complaint office – which supervises water supply and concerns disputes On the frequently paired American west-to Joliet, Illinois, an institution of the pension council that provides benefits for railway workers and their survivors.

The end of the lease does not mean that all locations will be closed. In some cases, agencies may negotiate fresh lease agreements to stay in place, reduce their existing space or move elsewhere.

“Some agencies say:” I’m not leaving. We cannot leave – said Chad Becker, a former GSA real estate official, who now represents building owners with a government agreement at the Arco Real Estate Solutions. “I think there will be a period of performance, a period of disbelief. And if necessary, they can start acting on the actual execution of movement. “

»Read more: Doge ends his lease in the Philadelphia Sec office among national cuts

Errors add to the confusion

Doge claims that GSA has informed the owners in recent weeks, that it plans to finish 793 leases, focusing mainly on those that can be ended within months without punishment. The group estimates that these movements will save about $ 500 million on the conditions of lease, which in some cases was to be continued to the 1930s. For example, Bureau of Reclamation in Boise will enter into force on August 31 and is expected to save a total of $ 18.7 million to 2035.

But the estimates of the saving of Doge-butter to reduce the cost of $ 1 trill-has not been verified and does not take into account the costs of movement and closure. The group did not publish any information about what they will mean for the agency.

“My initial reaction is that it will cause more chaos,” said Jim Simpson, an accountant in Arizona, who helps people with low income to lay out taxes and serves in the IRS panel, which supporters of taxpayers. “There is a lot of space for government performance, but this should be done surgically, not with a chain chain.”

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Simpson said he was surprised when he learned that dozens of IRS offices, including local taxpayers’ support centers, threatened to dismiss lease. There are customers to obtain documents to submit phrases and answers to IRS queries, and said that the loss of services “will cause a lot of anxiety” and delays returns.

According to a person with direct knowledge of the changes that talked to AP, in order to avoid retaliation, plans to cancel the lease agreement in several IRS centers and other parties were annulled and were canceled. These changes are not yet reflected on the dog list, which only removed one and added dozens more in the latest update published on Thursday.

According to the person familiar with this case, GSA canceled the cancellation of the Geological Research Bureau in Anchorage in Alaska, to study after study, had no right to terminate the contract.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-okla., Said on Monday that he convinced Doge to withdraw lease agreements planned for the National Weather Center in Norman, the Social Insurance Office in Lawton and the Indian Health Services office in Oklahoma City. But all three lease agreements have been on the Doge appeal list since Thursday.

The GSA press office did not answer inquiries.

»Read more: Doge cancels the lease of Philly’s apartment for secret agents of the service guarding his daughter Biden

The real estate market is blind

While there was already a two -sided pursuit of a government trace of real estate, a massive blind appeal by the industry known for its stability.

The owners who expected government agencies would remain tenants, in some cases in some cases under their existing lease agreement were stunned. According to real estate managers, some agencies have learned from construction managers, not their federal partners that their lease was canceled.

Becker, whose company follows the cancellation of the Doge lease, and other observers said that they expect some agencies to be able to lead their staff and real estate from space on such tight dates. This may force some agencies to pay additional rent in the period known as a detention period, undermining the Doge target consisting in saving taxpayers’ money.

The Association of Building Owners and Managers, which represents the commercial real estate industry, told the owners in the latest alert of spokesman to be prepared to search for payments from federal government tenants who remain outside their leasing.

»Read more: Doge lowered dozens of federal contracts in Pennsylvania – and companies feel pain

Many agencies do not speak

When asked about building plans with a lease agreement, which will soon expire, IRS did not answer. The social security administration spokesman disregarded the impact of the loss of offices of the office, claiming that many of them were “small remote places of hearing”, did not serve in public, it was already consolidated in another place or planned to close.

Several other agencies provided slight brightness – claiming that they cooperate with GSA in order to consider their options, in statements that in some cases were almost identical.

But the spokesman for the pension council expressed concern about the upcoming appeals regarding the lease agreement in Joliet, Illinois and eight other states, saying that he was working on “maintaining presence in a public office for the local railway community.”

»Read more: Last month, federal employees in Philadelphia were released. Now those who are still employed are facing possible closure.

The David Marroni official for government responsibility said last week the congress hearing that the pursuit of unloading unnecessary federal real estate was “long late”, saying that the agencies had maintained unnecessary space for too long. He warned, however, that the reduction must be intentional and carefully planned to “generate significant savings and reduce the risk of errors and unexpected effects of the mission.”

This process began before the arrival of the Musk team, and the portfolio of the federal government is constantly falling over the past decade. Indeed, Doge critics claim that if he was really interested in reducing costs, he can learn from GSA, whose mission was even before the office, was the provision of “effective and efficient” services of the American audience.

The law signed by former president Joe Biden before leaving the office in January recommended agencies to measure real indicators of the covers of rented spaces for this summer. Those that have not achieved a goal of 60% of employ over time will be directed to get rid of excessive space.

“There is a logical and orderly way to do this,” he said during the interrogation last week Rep. Greg Stanton, Democrat in Arizona. Instead, he said, Doge runs a reckless approach that threatens to harm public services.

Observers of the industry warned that each situation is different, and understanding the full influence of the appeal of the lease will take months or years.

“It really depends on the conditions. But this is a shock, there is no doubt that suddenly the boom, in six weeks, everything happened – said J. Reid Cummings, a professor of finance and real estate at the University of South Alabama. “It’s like a blitzkrieg.”

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