April 29, 1985

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including section 486(a) of title 40 of the United States Code, and in order to ensure that Federal real property resources are treated in accordance with their value as national assets and in the best interests of the Nation's taxpayers, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. General Requirements. To ensure the effective and economical use of America's real property and public land assets, establish a focal point for the enunciation of clear and consistent Federal policies regarding the acquisition, management, and disposal of properties, and assure management accountability for implementing Federal real property management reforms, all Executive departments and agencies shall take immediate action to recognize the importance of such resources through increased management attention, establishment of clear goals and objectives, improved policies and levels of accountability, and other appropriate actions. Specifically:

(a) The Domestic Policy Council shall serve as the forum for approving government-wide real property management policies;

(b) All Executive departments and agencies shall establish internal policies and systems of accountability that ensure effective use of real property in support of mission-related activities, consistent with Federal policies regarding the acquisition, management, and disposal of such assets. All such agencies shall periodically review their real property holdings and conduct surveys of such property in accordance with standards and procedures determined by the Administrator of General Services. All such agencies shall also develop annual real property management improvement plans that include clear and concise goals and objectives related to all aspects of real property management, and identify sales, work space management, productivity, and excess property targets;

(c) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall review, through the management and budget review processes, the efforts of departments and agencies toward achieving the government-wide property management policies established pursuant to this Order. Savings achieved as a result of improved management shall be applied to reduce Federal spending and to support program delivery;

(d) The Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration shall, in consultation with the land managing agencies, develop legislative initiatives that seek to improve Federal real property management through the adoption of appropriate private sector management techniques; the elimination of duplication of effort among agencies; and the establishment of managerial accountability for implementing effective and efficient real property management practices; and

(e) The President's Council on Management Improvement, subject to the policy direction of the Domestic Policy Council, shall conduct such additional studies as are necessary to improve Federal real property management by appropriate agencies and groups.

Sec. 2. Real Property. The Administrator of General Services shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide government-wide policy oversight and guidance for Federal real property management; manage selected properties for agencies; conduct surveys; delegate operational responsibility to agencies where feasible and economical; and provide leadership in the development and maintenance of needed property management information systems.

Sec. 3. Public Lands. In order to ensure that Federally owned lands, other than the real property covered by Section 2 of this Order, are managed in the most effective and economic manner, the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior shall take such steps as are appropriate to improve their management of public lands and National Forest System lands and shall develop appropriate legislative proposals necessary to facilitate that result.

Sec. 4. Executive Order No. 12348 of February 25, 1982, is hereby revoked.

Ronald Reagan
The White House,
April 29, 1985.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:58 a.m., April 30, 1985]

 

Date
04/29/1985