To that end, real property reform legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate in the 112 th Congress, including the Civilian Real Property Realignment Act of 2011 (CPRA, H.R. 1734 ). Introduced May 4, 2011, by Representative Jeff Denham, CPRA would draw on the military base realignment and closure (BRAC) model, by establishing an independent commission to assess civilian federal real property and to recommend actions for reducing the government's inventory of unneeded and underutilized holdings. The bill was reported by the full committee on February 1, 2012, and passed by the House on February 7, 2012. CPRA would have a broad scope, applying to space owned and leased by all executive branch agencies and government corporations, although the bill would exclude several categories of properties, including certain military installations, properties excluded for reasons of national security, and properties owned by the United States Postal Service. The legislation would encompass most major real property asset management functions, collectively referred to as "realigning" actions, including the consolidation, reconfiguration, co-location, exchange, sale, redevelopment, and disposal of unneeded or underutilized properties. Development of Recommendations to the Commission

If enacted, the first step in the CPRA process would be for federal landholding agencies to develop their own recommendations for realigning their real property portfolios and for reducing operating and maintenance costs. Agencies would submit these recommendations to the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) not later than 120 days after the start of each fiscal year, along with specific data on all of the properties they own, lease, or otherwise control. The OMB Director, in consultation with the GSA Administrator, would then review the recommendations submitted by the agencies and revise the submissions, as needed, using the new criteria. The Administrator would then submit the revised recommendations, along with the criteria, to a newly established Civilian Property Realignment Commission. The Commission would be composed of nine members, each serving a six year term. The chairperson would be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Commission would perform its own analysis of agency real property inventories and of the recommendations submitted by the Administrator and OMB Director. If the President disapproves of some or all of the Commission's recommendations, he would be required to submit a report to Congress and to the Commission identifying the reasons for disapproval, and the Commission would have 30 days to submit a revised list of recommendations to the President. Implementation

If a joint resolution of approval were enacted, agencies would be required to begin implementation not later than two years from the date the President transmitted the recommendations to Congress, and to complete implementation no later than six years from the same date, unless notice is provided to the President and to Congress that "extenuating circumstances" have caused the delay.
In an effort to reduce the costs associated with maintaining thousands of unneeded and underutilized federal buildings, and to generate revenue through the sale of such properties, the 112th Congress is considering several real property reform bills. Perhaps the most comprehensive of these proposals is H.R. 1734, the Civilian Property Realignment Act (CPRA) of 2011. CPRA was introduced on May 4, 2011, and reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management on May 25, 2011. CPRA was reported by the full committee on February 1, 2012, and passed by the House on February 7, 2012.
CPRA would establish a new, more centralized process for making decisions regarding the consolidation, reconfiguration, redevelopment, exchange, lease, sale, and conveyance of federal real property—actions collectively referred to as "realignment." It would apply to all space owned and leased by executive branch agencies and government corporations, although the bill would exclude several categories of properties, including certain military installations, properties excluded for reasons of national security, and properties owned by the United States Postal Service.
The first step in the CPRA process would be for federal landholding agencies to develop recommendations for realigning their real property portfolios, and for reducing operating and maintenance costs. Agencies would submit these recommendations to the Administrator of the General Services Administration and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, along with data on the properties owned and leased by each agency. The OMB Director, in consultation with the Administrator, would review the recommendations, revise them, and then submit the revised recommendations to a newly established Civilian Property Realignment Commission.
The Commission would be composed of nine members, all appointed by the President, with the chairperson requiring the advice and consent of the Senate prior to being seated. The Commission would hold public hearings, conduct its own independent review of agency real property portfolios, analyze the recommendations it received from the Administrator, and submit a final list of recommendations to the President, who may return it to the Commission for revisions, submit it to Congress, or take no action. If Congress passes, and the President signs, a joint resolution approving the Commission's recommendations, then agencies would be required to begin implementing recommendations within two years of the date the President submitted recommended actions to Congress, and complete them within six years of that date.
This report describes and analyzes each step in the recommendation process, evaluates provisions that are intended to facilitate implementation of the Commission's recommendations, and provides a discussion of additional transparency measures that may enhance congressional oversight of agency real property portfolios.