U.S. Representative Jeff Denham (R-Turlock)’s Federal Asset Sale and Transfer (FAST) Act of 2016, a bipartisan bill to eliminate government waste by selling off unused and vacant federal properties, passed unanimously through the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The Federal Asset Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 establishes an independent board to identify federal properties to be sold and consolidated, saving billions of dollars in federal expenses and operating costs.

“Today we have an alarming number of federal properties standing empty or being under-utilized,” said Rep. Denham. “This bill is common-sense, it’s bipartisan, and it’s good government. It will save us billions. This has been a priority of mine for many years and I am glad to see such clear support on both sides of the aisle.”

The most recent Federal Real Property Summary showed that the government owns more than 254,000 buildings with 77,000 underutilized – costing taxpayers $1.7 billion a year.