Ernst Fast-Tracks Sale of Vacant Federal Buildings Costing Taxpayers Billions

WASHINGTON – With the U.S. government clinging to a costly real estate portfolio, including nearly 7,700 vacant buildings, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is introducing new legislation to eliminate regulatory hurdles and fast-track the sale of unneeded federal buildings.

Ernst is introducing the Disposing of Inactive Structures and Properties by Offering for Sale And Lease (DISPOSAL) Act to renew her efforts to sell six pieces of prime D.C. real estate and clear the way to sell 20 buildings every year to generate revenue for taxpayers and avoid billions of dollars in deferred maintenance. Based off of Spirit Halloween's business model that uses temporary leases for vacant retail spaces to keep overhead costs low, the massive collection of vacant buildings can be bought by businesses instead of continuing to be a money pit for tax dollars.

“Despite President Trump calling federal employees back to work, vacant government buildings could easily be mistaken as future locations for Spirit Halloween stores,” said Ernst. “For too long, the entrenched bureaucracy has used red tape to prevent these ghost towns from being sold off. My DISPOSAL Act immediately lists six prime pieces of D.C. real estate on the auction block and slashes through pointless regulations to fast-track the sale of the government’s graveyard of lifeless real estate to generate hundreds of millions of dollars and save taxpayers billions.”

Click here to view the bill.

Background:

Maintaining these office spaces is quite costly to taxpayers. Every year, Washington pays out over $81 million maintaining underutilized offices and a General Services Administration (GSA) report in May 2025 said that deferred maintenance exceeds $6 billion and will grow to $20 billion in five years.

The condition is many of these buildings is highly concerning. One is described as a “roach-infested mold dungeon.” Bugs werecrawling out of faucets and creeping across the floor at another. Others are literal death traps. The drinking water in many buildings is a deadly potion of toxic metals and biohazards.

Ernst previously introduced the FOR SALE Act to put six pieces of prime properties in the nation’s capital on the auction block to generate $400 million or more in revenue, while also canceling costs, including $2.9 billion for overdue maintenance.

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