A Call to Action - the US President

US Government Efficiency Solution for Real Property Management Miniseries

Jul 08, 2025

Below continues the conclusion for the AMP Newsletter miniseries, US Government’s Failure to Efficiently Manage its Built Infrastructure. This article issues a call to action for the U.S. President, leveraging the National Academies’ Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities (2023) as the primary source for recommendations. The highlights the President’s unique authority to drive systemic reform in federal real property management.

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A Presidential Mandate: Resolving the Federal Government’s Real Property Crisis

The AMP Newsletter miniseries has detailed the U.S. government’s chronic failure to efficiently manage its vast built infrastructure—a $1.7 trillion portfolio of over 1.2 million buildings and structures, plagued by underfunding, poor utilization, and growing deferred maintenance backlogs. The National Academies’ Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities (2023) labels this a fiduciary failure rooted in systemic management deficiencies, not a lack of resources or will. While the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has documented symptoms for decades, only the President has the authority to enact transformative change across federal agencies. This article issues a call to action for the President to lead reform, drawing on the National Academies’ five recommendations to overhaul federal real property management.

The President’s Role in Federal Real Property Management

As the nation’s chief executive, the President sets the strategic direction for federal agencies through executive orders, budget priorities, and appointments to key positions, such as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The President can mandate government-wide policies, enforce accountability, and champion legislative proposals to Congress.

The Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities report, informed by over 60 GAO reports and extensive stakeholder input, identifies systemic management failures as the root cause of the real property crisis. Its recommendations provide a roadmap for the President to address this issue, ensuring taxpayer dollars are used effectively to maintain critical infrastructure.

The Problem

The federal government’s real property portfolio is a critical enabler of agency missions, from defense to public services. Yet, GAO’s High Risk List has flagged real property management as a high-risk issue since 2003 (1997 for the Department of Defense), citing poor property utilization, unreliable data, inadequate security, and worsening building conditions.

The 2025 High Risk List reports 58 open recommendations, with progress offset by regressions. Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities argues that these are symptoms of a deeper issue: a lack of disciplined, integrated asset management systems. Chronic underfunding, nonconsequential decision-making, and weak accountability exacerbate the problem, risking mission failures and wasting billions annually.

National Academies’ Recommendations (Presidential Call to Action Lens)

Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities outlines five recommendations to address the root causes of federal real property mismanagement. Adapted for a presidential call to action, these recommendations leverage the President’s authority to drive systemic change:

Mandate Agency Real Property Asset Management Systems:
- Recommendation: The report calls for a mandate requiring agencies to implement real property asset management systems aligned with OMB directives, such as Circular A-11 (budget development, performance evaluation, capital programming) and A-123 (enterprise risk management, internal controls).
- Presidential Action: Issue an executive order mandating that all federal agencies develop and implement asset management systems compliant with OMB guidance within 18 months. This order should require agencies to demonstrate how real property budgets align with mission objectives and performance targets, as outlined in A-11, Part 6 (The Federal Performance Framework). The President should direct OMB to oversee compliance and report progress to the White House annually.
- Impact: A clear mandate will enforce accountability, ensuring agencies prioritize real property management as a fiduciary duty. Adherence of this action can be validated and verified through demonstrated conformance with ISO 55000 – Asset Management System Requirements.
Strengthen Agency Real Property Capital Plans:
- Recommendation: The report highlights gaps in agency capital plans, despite OMB’s Capital Programming Guide (A-11 supplement) and M-20-03 (Implementation of Agency-wide Real Property Capital Planning) requiring integration of mission objectives, budgets, and real property programs.
- Presidential Action: Direct OMB to revise and enforce the Capital Programming Guide, requiring agencies to submit annual real property capital plans that address enterprise risk management (A-123) and resolve issues prioritizing achievement of agency mission objectives (leading indicators for success) over deferred maintenance backlog management (lagging indicator for success). The President should require that Agency Heads approve and the White House’s Federal Real Property Council to review these plans, ensuring they address systemic deficiencies rather than temporary fixes.
- Impact: Strengthened capital plans will align real property investments with strategic priorities, reducing waste and improving infrastructure resilience.
Develop a National and Agency-Level Real Property Strategy:
- Recommendation: The report emphasizes the need for a national strategy, as outlined in OMB M-20-10 (Addendum to the National Strategy for the Efficient Use of Real Property), and agency-level strategies through the Government Performance and Results Act as implemented in OMB Circular A-11, Part 6.
- Presidential Action: Launch a National Real Property Strategy via executive order, setting clear goals for portfolio optimization, sustainability, and mission alignment. Supporting details on this are covered in earlier articles addressing the How, the Why, the What, and the Who. This action should direct agencies to include real property management as a priority in their strategic plans, potentially as an “Agency Priority Goal.” The President should publicly champion this strategy to signal leadership commitment.
- Impact: A unified strategy will align agency efforts, elevate real property management as a national priority, and demonstrate accountability to taxpayers.
Invest in Predictive Models, Data, and Performance Measures:
- Recommendation: The report criticizes reliance on lagging indicators like deferred maintenance and repair (DM&R) backlogs, advocating for predictive economic models to forecast maintenance needs (Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities, Chapters 2–4, Appendices E–F).
- Presidential Action: Allocate funding in the President’s Budget for agencies, under the guidance of the Federal Real Property Council, to develop advanced data analytics and predictive modeling tools, as recommended in GAO-14-105485 and the National Academies reports Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities and Predicting Outcomes of Investments in Maintenance and Repair of Federal Facilities. Direct OMB to establish government-wide standards for real property data collection and reporting, ensuring data drives consequential decision-making, i.e. it is a consequential factor in budget justification and allocation.
- Impact: Predictive models will enable proactive maintenance, increase the productive worth of real property actions, reduce DM&R backlogs, and optimize resource allocation.
Reform Budget Development and Expenditure Mechanisms:
- Recommendation: The report advocates for innovative funding models, such as the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act (FASTA), revolving funds, working capital funds, and user-pay models, to incentivize better investment decisions.
- Presidential Action: Propose legislation to expand FASTA and create new authorities for revolving and working capital funds, as recommended in Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities. In the interim, issue an executive order directing agencies to pilot user-pay models for high-value facilities. The President should also direct OMB to integrate economic decision-making principles (beyond A-94 and A-123) into budget processes, emphasizing long-term value over short-term savings.
- Impact: Innovative funding will incentivize agencies to prioritize cost-effective investments, mitigating the “tragedy of the commons” problem in real property management.

Call to Action for the President

The President has a unique opportunity to resolve many decades-long fiduciary failure by addressing the systemic management deficiencies outlined in Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities. This requires bold, decisive action:

Issue an Executive Order: Mandate disciplined asset management systems across agencies, using frameworks like ISO 55000 (Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities, GAO-19-57). This should include clear timelines, accountability measures, and OMB oversight.
Champion a National Strategy: Elevate real property management as a national priority, aligning it with economic, security, and sustainability goals. Publicly advocate for reform to build bipartisan support.
Leverage Technology and Data: Invest in modern tools—predictive analytics, AI, and integrated management systems—to enable data-driven decisions. This aligns with the report’s call for consequential decision-making.
Drive Legislative and Budget Reform: Work with Congress to expand funding authorities and integrate economic principles into budget processes, ensuring long-term infrastructure sustainability.
Appoint Strong Leadership: Select OMB and agency leaders committed to real property reform, with expertise in asset management and enterprise risk management.

Conclusion – A Call to Action

The U.S. government’s failure to manage its built infrastructure is not just a bureaucratic issue—it’s a betrayal of taxpayer trust and a threat to national security, economic stability, and public services. Strategies to Renew Federal Facilities provides a clear path forward, rooted in systemic reform.

The President, as the nation’s leader, must act decisively to implement these recommendations, ensuring federal agencies manage their $1.7 trillion real property portfolio with the discipline and foresight it demands. By issuing executive orders, championing a national strategy, and investing in modern systems, the President can transform federal real property management, leaving a legacy of efficiency and accountability.

Written by Jack Dempsey | July 8, 2025

AMP Newsletter #129