General Services Administration - History

History

In 1947 President Harry Truman asked former President Herbert Hoover to lead what became known as the Hoover Commission to make recommendations to reorganize the operations of the federal government. One of the recommendations of the commission was the establishment of an "Office of the General Services." This proposed office would combine the responsibilities of the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Federal Supply and Office of Contract Settlement, the National Archives and Records Administration Establishment, the Federal Work Agency, and the War Assets Administration. GSA became an independent agency on July 1, 1949, after the passage of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. General Jess Larson, Administrator of the War Assets Administration, was named GSA's first Administrator.

The first job awaiting Administrator Larson and the newly formed GSA was a complete renovation of the White House. The structure had fallen into such a state of disrepair by 1949 that one inspector of the time said the historic structure was standing “purely from habit.” Larson later explained the nature of the total renovation in depth by saying, “In order to make the White House structurally sound, it was necessary to completely dismantle, and I mean completely dismantle, everything from the White House except the four walls, which were constructed of stone. Everything, except the four walls without a roof, was finally stripped down, and that's where the work started.” GSA worked closely with President Truman and First Lady Bess Truman to ensure that the new agency's first major project would be a success. GSA completed the renovation in 1952. GSA headquarters, located at Eighteenth and F Sts. NW, was U.S. General Services Administration Building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as Interior Department Offices.

In July 1991, GSA contractors began the excavation of what is now the Ted Weiss Federal Building in New York City. The planning for that building did not take into account the possibility of encountering the historic cemetery for colonial-era African New Yorkers that was located beneath the footprint of the $276-million-dollar office building. When initial excavation disturbed burials, destroying skeletons and artifacts, GSA sent archaeologists to excavate—but hid their findings from the public. Revelation of the discoveries led to 18 months of activism by African-descendant community members, public officials, academics, and concerned citizens. Ultimately, GSA made public amends by funding extensive scientific research under the auspices of Dr. Michael Blakey; creating a new subagency, the Office of Public Education and Interpretation; truncating the building plan; and funding public reports on the story of the African Burial Ground. The efforts led to the creation of a new unit of the National Park Service, The African Burial Ground National Monument, at the facility. GSA fully funded that portion of the National Park Service until 2010, when GSA's formal involvement with the African Burial Ground ceased.

On April 3, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Martha N. Johnson to serve as the GSA Administrator. After a 9-month delay, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination on February 4, 2010. On April 2, 2012, Johnson resigned after a management-deficiency report by the inspector general (http://www.gsaig.gov/?LinkServID=908FFF8C-B323-14AD-270C38936310AEBD&showMeta=0) was publicized that detailed improper payments for a 2010 "Western Regions" training conference put on by the Public Buildings Service in Las Vegas. It stated that PBS Regions 7, 8, 9, and 10 (covering the western half of the United States) had been holding WRCs since the early 1990s. Before turning in her own resignation, Johnson fired two other GSA senior executives, PBS head Robert Peck and senior advisor Stephen Leeds. Four PBS Regional Commissioners, who had been responsible for planning the conference, were placed on administrative leave. The conference had been the most recent in a series of similar lavish conferences organized by regions of GSA's Public Buildings Service. In previous years, Western Regions conferences had been in New Orleans, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Lake Tahoe (where Caesars Hotel provided lakefront views, a lagoon-style indoor swimming pool, and a 24-hour casino). U.S. Representative John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, called for a congressional investigation into the misuse of federal money by GSA.