Independent Agency Review Finds Expanded Judiciary Building Authority Would Increase Costs, Weaken Oversight

Pilot Trial Reviews and Independent Oversight Show Judiciary Building Management Increases Unused Space, Costs, and Long-term Repair Liabilities as Congress Considers a Proposal to Grant the Judiciary Real Property Authority

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is issuing a response to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin's (D-IL) Judicial Space and Facilities Management Effectiveness Act, warning that the legislation would expand previously identified cost and management deficiencies in the federal Judiciary.

The proposed legislation would allow the federal Judiciary to assume ownership, repair, and maintenance responsibilities for courthouses in up to 10 districts despite multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports documenting persistent issues in Judiciary courthouse planning, including oversized design standards, lackluster coordination with Executive Branch partners, and construction decisions that drive unnecessarily large and expensive courthouses.

As the only courthouse in the nation still maintained by the Judiciary following a 1988 real-property authority pilot program, the Hugo L. Black U.S. Courthouse continues to demonstrate building management shortcomings. In its most recent Management Analysis and Review System (MARS) assessment, GSA identified serious safety failures, accessibility deficiencies, and maintenance practices that have shortened the useful life of critical infrastructure systems. Despite holding operations and maintenance authority since 1993, the Judiciary has repeatedly relied on GSA's expertise to resolve routine and emergent issues, including elevator repairs, fire and life safety systems, and water-quality management.

"GSA is the best building manager in the federal government, and we're proud to support America's courts by extending our expertise to their facilities," said GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst. "Independent GAO reports have repeatedly found that Judiciary courthouse management leads to needlessly expensive and oversized projects that waste valuable taxpayer dollars. If Congress wants faster and cheaper building repairs, they should expand the prospectus threshold to $75 million and let GSA do its job."

A recent GAO report, "Courthouse Construction: Changes to Design Standards Will Result in Larger and More Costly Future Courthouses," GAO-25-108406, found that the Judiciary-managed U.S. Courts Design Guide disregarded GSA and GAO expertise, relied on problematic and outdated courthouse assessments, and took no action to address well-documented concerns that its standards would needlessly increase courthouse space and the cost burden on taxpayers.

The latest report reiterates courthouse space and cost concerns previously expressed in a 2010 GAO report, which found that the Judiciary could have reduced the number of courtrooms built since 2000 by approximately 40%. Together, the two reports and Hugo Black analysis reflect a nearly two decade trend of the Judiciary exceeding courthouse space needs, deliberately ignoring cost-saving guidance from oversight agencies, and dramatically overestimating building management capabilities.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing approximately 360 million rentable square feet, overseeing over $126 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivering technology services to millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA's mission is to deliver exceptional customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology. To address nearly $50 billion in delinquent maintenance, GSA is leading a coalition of every cabinet agency and many federal leaders urgently advocating for full Federal Buildings Fund access and raising the prospectus threshold from $3.96 million to $75 million. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow @USGSA.