A new Office of Inspector General (OIG) report shows that Social Security has 27,885 square feet of office space at its headquarters in the Baltimore area, most of it in the Annex building, that is not being used. You might say that this is just another example of your wasteful federal government and I expect that's how Fox News might present this report but it's not that simple. The first question is why is that office space vacant? It's doubt that it's because Social Security bought or leased too much space. Almost certainly, it's because headquarters workforce has been downsized. The second question is whether, as a practical matter, that space can actually be rented out or sold. Who wants office space in that area of Baltimore especially if it's part of a building that's mostly occupied by Social Security? I don't know the answer to that question. Neither does OIG.
Field offices across the country share building space with other businesses, agencies and organizations. There is little reason, other than marketability, that this space could not be leased out, or sell the building and lease back the space that SSA needs.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a lot of it is vacant because of components moving to a new location in Baltimore and there will be more vacant space as additional components move to the new office building.
ReplyDeleteThe report also suggests that overall SSA is doing pretty good at managing its real estate footprint.
The next question is why OIG is involved in this. Isn't this GSA jurisdiction?
ReplyDeleteThe bigger question is why SSA headquarters works at the Taj Mahal while SSA offices are being closed or being downsized. I guess GSA has a different set of rules toward area offices and SSA headquarters.
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