Comer Requests GAO to Examine Army Corps Rental Rates Charged to Marina Operators

WASHINGTON- Today, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) raised concerns that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) rental calculations impose excessive and burdensome costs on marina operators. In a letter to U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown, Chairman Comer requested that GAO investigate USACE's rental rate methodology and determine the effects of capping food and fuel sales at one percent in rental calculations under the Revised Graduated Rental System.

"USACE manages hundreds of water resource development projects throughout the country and is one of the nation's leading providers of outdoor recreation, with more than 400 lake and river projects in 43 states. These recreational sites host millions of visitors every year and provide substantial economic benefits to the surrounding local communities," wrote Chairman Comer. "Recreation and economic benefits would not be possible without the small businesses that privately operate the marinas and other concessions on USACE managed real estate. However, these small businesses are operating on extraordinarily tight margins that are often further diminished by their rental payments owed to USACE."

Since 2021, Chairman Comer has pressed the Corps to bring greater transparency and fairness to the fees charged to marina operators. He previously requested documents detailing how administrative fees are calculated across Corps districts and asked GAO in 2022 to examine whether those fees are assessed fairly and consistently. In January 2026, Chairman Comer reintroduced the Maintaining Access to Recreational Industry and Necessary Adjustments (MARINA) Act to provide marina owners with greater transparency, predictability, and stability in Corps fee structures.

"In 2023, GAO reported that USACE did not consistently follow key practices for setting, reviewing, and updating its user fees, particularly the lease rental rates charged to concession operators, which had not been updated since 1994. Although USACE generally agreed with GAO's recommendations, local marina operators continue to struggle with rental rates that are exorbitant relative to the low profit margins on goods such as food, beverages, and fuel. Over the past few years, I have introduced legislation aimed at providing greater transparency, predictability and stability in fee structures for Kentucky marina owners. The MARINA Act is an instrumental step towards holding USACE accountable and protecting marina owners. Given GAO's past work on this issue, I request that GAO undertake an examination of USACE rental rates for marina concession operators," concluded Chairman Comer.

Read the letter to GAO here.