General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies in the United States|federal agencies]. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. government offices, provides transportation, office space, building services, and property management to federal employees, agencies, and develops government-wide cost-minimizing policies and other management tasks.
The GSA employs about 12,000 federal workers. It has an annual operating budget of roughly $33 billion and oversees $66 billion of procurement annually. It contributes to the management of about $500 billion in U.S. federal property, divided chiefly among 8,397 owned and leased buildings as well as a 215,000-vehicle motor pool. Among the real estate assets it manages are the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., which is the largest U.S. federal building after the Pentagon.
The GSA's business lines include the Federal Acquisition Service and the Public Buildings Service, as well as several Staff Offices including the Office of Government-wide Policy, the Office of Small Business Utilization, and the Office of Mission Assurance. As part of FAS, GSA's Technology Transformation Services helps federal agencies improve the delivery of information and services to the public. Initiatives include the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, 18F, Login.gov, Cloud.gov, FedRAMP, the USAGov platform, Data.gov, Challenge.gov, the U.S. Web Design System, and I.T. Modernization Centers of Excellence.
The GSA is a member of the Procurement G6, an informal group leading the use of framework agreements and e-procurement instruments in public procurement.
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 commission's recommendations was the establishment of an "Office of the General Services", to combine the responsibilities of the following organizations:- United States Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Federal Supply
- U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Contract Settlement
- National Archives Establishment
- All functions of the Federal Works Agency, including the Public Buildings Administration and the Public Roads Administration
- War Assets Administration
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 said it was standing "purely from habit". Larson later explained 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.
In 1960, GSA created the Federal Telecommunications System, a government-wide intercity telephone system. In 1962 the Ad Hoc Committee on Federal Office Space created a new building program to address obsolete office buildings in Washington, D.C., resulting in the construction of many of the offices that now line Independence Avenue.
In 1970, the Nixon administration created the Consumer Product Information Coordinating Center, now part of USAGov. In 1974 the Federal Buildings Fund was initiated, allowing GSA to issue rent bills to federal agencies. In 1972 GSA established the Automated Data and Telecommunications Service, which later became the Office of Information Resources Management. In 1973 GSA created the Office of Federal Management Policy. GSA's Office of Acquisition Policy centralized procurement policy in 1978. GSA was initially responsible for emergency preparedness and stockpiling strategic materials to be used in wartime until those functions were transferred to the newly created Federal Emergency Management Agency in 1979.
In 1984, GSA introduced the federal government to the use of charge cards, known as the GSA SmartPay system. The National Archives and Records Administration was spun off into an independent agency in 1985. The same year, GSA began providing government-wide policy oversight and guidance for federal real property management as a result of an executive order signed by President Ronald Reagan.
In 1986, GSA headquarters, U.S. General Services Administration Building, located at Eighteenth and F Streets, NW, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, at the time serving as Interior Department offices.
In 2003, the Federal Protective Service, which secures GSA-managed buildings, was moved to the United States Department of Homeland Security. In 2005, GSA reorganized to merge the Federal Supply Service and Federal Technology Service business lines into the Federal Acquisition Service.
On April 3, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Martha N. Johnson to serve as GSA Administrator. After a nine-month delay, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination on February 4, 2010. On April 2, 2012, Johnson resigned in the wake of a management-deficiency report that detailed improper payments for a 2010 "Western Regions" training conference held by the Public Buildings Service in Las Vegas.
In 2013, a result of the Open Government Initiative's instruction for federal agencies to open their activities to the public, GSA developed Data.gov to foster transparency and information sharing. In the same year, GSA also launched the Total Workplace initiative to modernize the workplace of federal agencies and increase efficiency, alongside the Presidential Innovation Fellows and the 18F programs. In 2016, the and Making It Easier programs were launched to assist buyers from federal agencies in acquisitions, and to assist new companies in doing business with the government. Improvements were also made in the deliverance of digital government services with the creation of the Technology Transformation Services.
After the election of President Donald Trump in January 2025, GSA became one of the US federal entities targeted by Elon Musk. Members of the Department of Government Efficiency accessed GSA laptops and internal GSA infrastructure. An employee of Elon Musk's company Tesla, Thomas Shedd, was appointed to lead "Technology Transformation Services" within the GSA.
Controversies
Ted Weiss Federal Building controversy
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 located beneath the footprint of the $276 million 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 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.Lurita Doan controversy
During President George W. Bush's Administration GSA Administrator, Lurita Doan, was forced to resign after GSA had awarded a sole source contract for $20,000 to her friend. Doan appeared to have violated the Hatch Act and was criticized for political activity while on the job. The investigating team recommended she be punished to the fullest extent, and she resigned soon after.Western Regions Training Conference controversy
In 2012, 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. Lawmakers accused GSA of "lavish spending" following the 2010 Western Regions Training Conference at the M Resort in Las Vegas.GSA spent $823,000 in taxpayer money toward the October 2010 convention, including $100,405.37 spent on employee travel costs for a total of eight pre-planning meetings, scouting trips, and a "dry run". The report also found excessive spending for event planners, gifts for participants, and lavish meals.
The conference had been the most recent in a series of similar lavish conferences organized by regions of GSA's Public Buildings Service. In May 2010 GSA treated 120 interns to a five-day conference at a Palm Springs, California, resort. An additional investigation led by Inspector General Brian D. Miller found 115 missing Apple iPods meant for an employee rewards program.
GSA administrator Martha N. Johnson resigned in the wake of the controversy, after firing Public Buildings Service head Robert Peck and senior advisor Stephen Leeds. Four regional commissioners of the Service, who had been responsible for planning the conference, were placed on administrative leave.
Trump–Biden presidential transition controversy
After Joe Biden was called by media outlets as the president-elect of the United States – defeating Donald Trump in the November 2020 election – Emily W. Murphy, the chief executive of the General Services Administration, initially refused to sign a letter authorizing Biden's transition team to begin work and access federal agencies and transition funds, according to The Washington Post. This came as Trump refused to concede Biden's presumptive – but not yet certified – victory and follow the norm of facilitating a peaceful transition of power to the presumptive winner. There are no firm rules on how the GSA determines the president-elect. Typically, the GSA chief might decide after reliable news organizations have declared the winner or following a concession by the loser. On November 23, 2020, Murphy issued the letter of ascertainment that meant the Trump administration was ready to begin the formal transition.Login.gov Digital Identity Standards controversy
In April 2022, the Office of Inspector General, Office of Inspections, initiated an evaluation of the GSA's Login.gov services. OIG initiated this evaluation based on a notification received from GSA's Office of General Counsel identifying potential misconduct within Login.gov, a component of GSA's Technology Transformation Services under the Federal Acquisition Service. OIG's evaluation found that GSA misled their customer agencies when GSA failed to communicate Login.gov's known noncompliance with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-63-3, Digital Identity Guidelines.Notwithstanding GSA officials' assertions that Login.gov met SP 800-63-3 Identity Assurance Level 2 requirements, Login.gov has never included a physical or biometric comparison for its customer agencies. Further, GSA continued to mislead customer agencies even after GSA suspended efforts to meet SP 800-63-3.
GSA knowingly billed IAL2 customer agencies over $10 million for services, including alleged IAL2 services that did not meet IAL2 standards. Furthermore, GSA used misleading language to secure additional funds for Login.gov. Finally, the GSA lacked adequate controls over the Login.gov program and allowed it to operate under a hands-off culture. OIG found that because of its failure to exercise management oversight and internal controls over Login.gov, FAS shares responsibility for the misrepresentations to GSA's customers. In response to OIG's report, GSA management agreed with the findings and recommendations.
Organization
Structure
The administrator is a presidential political appointee and the chief executive of the General Services Administration. On April 12, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Robin Carnahan to serve as administrator. She was confirmed by the US Senate on June 23, 2021.The GSA consists of two major services: the Federal Acquisition Service, and the Public Buildings Service. In addition to these two major services, the agency also consists of twelve staff offices and two independent offices. The FAS provides both strategic and operational support for the acquisition of goods and services for other federal departments.
Past administrators
The following persons served as administrator of the General Services Administration:| Image | Administrator | Term start | Term end | ||
| 1 | Jess Larson | July 3, 1949 | January 29, 1953 | ||
| Acting | Russell Forbe | February 10, 1953 | May 1, 1953 | ||
| 2 | Edmund F. Mansure | May 2, 1953 | February 29, 1956 | ||
| 3 | Franklin G. Floete | May 3, 1956 | January 20, 1961 | ||
| 4 | John Moore | February 7, 1961 | November 25, 1961 | ||
| 5 | Bernard L. Boutin | November 27, 1961 | November 30, 1964 | ||
| 6 | Lawson B. Knott Jr. | December 1, 1965 | February 28, 1969 | ||
| 7 | Robert Lowe Kunzig | March 17, 1969 | January 14, 1972 | ||
| Acting | Rod Kreger | January 17, 1972 | June 1, 1972 | ||
| 8 | Arthur F. Sampson | June 2, 1972 | October 15, 1975 | ||
| 9 | Jack Eckerd | November 21, 1975 | February 11, 1977 | ||
| Acting | Robert Griffin | February 15, 1977 | April 29, 1977 | ||
| 10 | Jay Solomon | April 30, 1977 | March 31, 1979 | ||
| Acting | Paul Goulding | April 1, 1979 | June 29, 1979 | ||
| 11 | Rowland G. Freeman III | July 2, 1979 | January 14, 1981 | ||
| Acting | Raymond Adam Kline | January 15, 1981 | May 25, 1981 | ||
| 12 | Gerald P. Carmen | May 26, 1981 | February 29, 1984 | ||
| Acting | Raymond Adam Kline | March 1, 1984 | March 3, 1985 | ||
| Acting | Dwight Ink | March 4, 1985 | June 28, 1985 | ||
| 13 | Terence Golden | June 29, 1985 | March 18, 1988 | ||
| Acting | Paul Trause | March 19, 1988 | March 31, 1988 | ||
| Acting | John Alderson | April 1, 1988 | September 26, 1988 | ||
| 14 | Richard Austin | September 27, 1988 | January 20, 1993 | ||
| Acting | Robert Jones | January 20, 1993 | February 3, 1993 | ||
| Acting | Dennis Fischer | February 4, 1993 | June 13, 1993 | ||
| Acting | Julia Stasch | June 13, 1993 | July 7, 1993 | ||
| 15 | Roger Johnson | July 8, 1993 | February 29, 1996 | ||
| 16 | David J. Barram | March 4, 1996 | December 15, 2000 | ||
| Acting | Thurman Davis | December 16, 2000 | May 30, 2001 | ||
| 17 | Stephen A. Perry | May 31, 2001 | October 31, 2005 | ||
| Acting | David Bibb | November 1, 2005 | May 30, 2006 | ||
| 18 | Lurita A. Doan | May 31, 2006 | April 30, 2008 | ||
| Acting | David Bibb | May 1, 2008 | August 29, 2008 | ||
| Acting | James A. Williams | August 30, 2008 | January 20, 2009 | ||
| Acting | Paul F. Prouty | January 20, 2009 | December 21, 2009 | ||
| Acting | Stephen R. Leeds | December 22, 2009 | February 6, 2010 | ||
| 19 | Martha N. Johnson | February 7, 2010 | April 2, 2012 | ||
| Acting | Daniel M. Tangherlini | April 3, 2012 | July 4, 2013 | ||
| 20 | Daniel M. Tangherlini | July 5, 2013 | February 21, 2015 | ||
| Acting | Denise Turner Roth | February 22, 2015 | August 6, 2015 | ||
| 21 | Denise Turner Roth | August 7, 2015 | January 20, 2017 | ||
| Acting | Tim Horne | January 20, 2017 | December 11, 2017 | ||
| 22 | Emily W. Murphy | December 12, 2017 | January 15, 2021 | ||
| Acting | Alison Brigatti | January 15, 2021 | January 20, 2021 | ||
| Acting | Katy Kale | January 20, 2021 | July 2, 2021 | ||
| 23 | Robin Carnahan | July 2, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | ||
| Acting | Stephen Ehikian | January 20, 2025 | July 21, 2025 | ||
| Acting | Michael Rigas | July 21, 2025 | December 24, 2025 | ||
| 24 | Edward Forst | December 24, 2025 | Incumbent |
Staff offices
- Office of Government-wide Policy
- Office of the Chief Financial Officer
- Office of Human Resources Management
- Office of GSA IT
- Office of Administrative Services
- Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
- Office of Strategic Communication
- Office of Small Business Utilization
- Office of General Counsel
- Office of Civil Rights
- Office of Mission Assurance
- Office of Customer Experience
Independent offices
Regions
The GSA conducts its business activities through 11 offices throughout the United States. These regional offices are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Fort Worth, Kansas City (Missouri), New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.| Region | Region name | Complex | Location |
| 1 | New England | Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Federal Building | Boston, MA |
| 2 | Northeast and Caribbean | 1 World Trade Center | New York, NY |
| 3 | Mid-Atlantic | 100 S Independence Mall W | Philadelphia, PA |
| 4 | Southeast Sunbelt | Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Building | Atlanta, GA |
| 5 | Great Lakes | John C. Kluczynski Federal Building | Chicago, IL |
| 6 | Heartland | Two Pershing Square | Kansas City, MO |
| 7 | Greater Southwest | Fritz G. Lanham Federal Building | Fort Worth, TX |
| 8 | Rocky Mountain | Denver Federal Center | Denver, CO |
| 9 | Pacific Rim | 50 United Nations Plaza | San Francisco, CA |
| 10 | Northwest/Arctic | 400 15th Street SW | Auburn, WA |
| 11 | National Capital | 1800 F St NW | Washington, DC |
Operations
Procurement and the GSA Schedule
The Federal Acquisition Service provides products and services available to federal agencies across the U.S. government. The GSA assists with procurement work for other government agencies. As part of this effort, it maintains the GSA Schedule Program, which other agencies can use to buy goods and services. The GSA Schedule can be thought of as a collection of pre-negotiated contracts. Procurement managers from government agencies can view these agreements and make purchases from the GSA Schedule by following the appropriate procedures prescribed by Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR, Subpart 8.4.The GSA Schedule is awarded as a prime contract entered into by the federal government and a vendor that has submitted an acceptable proposal. At the core of the GSA Schedule contract lie two key concepts: 1) Basis of Award customer or group of customers and 2) Price Reduction Clause. The two concepts are applied in concert to achieve the government's pricing objectives for the GSA Schedule program. Namely, the government wants to ensure that when the vendor experiences competitive pressures to reduce its pricing, then the government can benefit from these and be extended reduced pricing as well.
The Basis of Award customer or group of customers represents the customer or group of customers whose sales are affected on the same terms and conditions as those with GSA, and whose pricing is used: 1) as the baseline during negotiations to establish discounts offered to GSA, and 2) as a price floor that, when breached, constitutes additional discounting that triggers the Price Reduction Clause.
The Price Reduction Clause ensures that vendor discounting practices and GSA Schedule prices maintain a fixed relationship. The vendor specifies in its GSA proposal, and during negotiations of GSA Schedule contract prices, the discounts to be given to Basis of Award customer. If the vendor then provides a larger discount to a Basis of Award customer than what was agreed upon in the GSA Schedule contract, then the vendor's GSA price will be reduced proportionately and retroactively.
Effective Price Reduction Clause compliance procedures will protect vendors if their discounting practices are fully and accurately disclosed in their original proposals to GSA and then are used as a basis for compliance over the term of the contract. Although not ideal, a compliance system implemented after a contract has been awarded can bring a contract into compliance, although sometimes at the expense of profits. If implementing a system in the middle of a contract period, inaccuracies that turn up should be corrected immediately, and the GSA contracting officer should be made aware of them. Price Reduction Clause compliance systems and procedures can range from simple to complex. A simple, manual system would be appropriate for a service contractor with standard labor rates that are not discounted. A complex system would be required for a reseller with thousands of products and discounting policies that differ among product groups.
In response to increased mandates and standards required by the Federal Government of its agencies and in a push to plan for federal sustainability, GSA offers online tools to aid in the building and management of government offices that are subject to these requirements.
The GSA has delegated authority to the Department of Veterans Affairs to procure medical supplies under the VA Federal Supply Schedules Program.
In 2018, the GSA awarded federal government debt collection services to IC System.
Federal property and buildings
The Public Buildings Service acquires and manages thousands of federal properties. In accordance with Title 40 of the United States Code, the GSA is charged with promulgating regulations governing the acquisition, use, and disposal of real property and personal property. This activity is centered in the GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy. Policies promulgated by the GSA are developed in collaboration with federal agencies and are typically published for public comment in the Federal Register before publication as a Final Rule.The Public Buildings Service provides offices for its customers and provides United States courthouses at good economies to the American taxpayer. PBS is funded primarily through the Federal Buildings Fund, which is supported by the rent from federal customer agencies.
The Office of Property Disposal of the PBS manages the disposal of surplus real property. The Office is responsible for land, office buildings, warehouses, former post offices, farms, family residences, commercial facilities, and airfields located in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Pacific Territories. Surplus property is made available to both government and private bidders and, in some cases, land sold for public purposes may be discounted by up to 100% of FMV.
Twenty-four GSA green buildings have earned LEED ratings. Some green offerings include green roofs, underfloor air distribution, use of renewable power from utility companies, and light shelves. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 made available not less than $4.5 billion for measures necessary to convert GSA facilities to High-Performance Green Buildings, as defined in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
The Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program facilitates the GSA’s implementation under the Act through project transaction services, applied technology services, and decision support services, deploying renewable energy technologies and cultivating change to embrace energy efficiency.
In 2004, the GSA was presented with the Honor Award from the National Building Museum for "success in creating and maintaining innovative environments for the federal community as well as providing a positive federal presence for the public".
Federal vehicle fleet management
The GSA contributes to the management of U.S. Federal property, including a 215,000 vehicle motor pool.The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included $300 million to acquire energy-efficient motor vehicles for the federal fleet. President Barack Obama announced that the GSA was to support the U.S. auto industry with orders for about 17,600 new fuel-efficient vehicles by June 1, 2009, on an accelerated schedule, with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. GSA was to pay $285 million to General Motors Corporation, Chrysler LLC, and Ford Motor Company. It was to include 2,500 hybrid sedans—the largest one-time purchase yet of hybrid vehicles for the federal government—and each new vehicle was claimed to yield at least a 10% fuel economy improvement over its predecessor. GSA was to spend $15 million more that year on a pilot fleet of advanced-technology vehicles, including all-electric vehicles and hybrid buses.
Hybrids accounted for about 10 percent of the 145,473 vehicles the GSA bought during the fiscal years 2009 and 2010, after making up less than 1 percent of government vehicle purchases in 2008. As for specific models, President Obama took a buy-American stance. The U.S. government bought about two-thirds of the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrids sold during the past two years, and almost a third of the Ford Fusion Hybrids, but only 17 Toyota Prius hybrids and five Honda Civic Hybrids. Ground Force One, so designated when transporting the POTUS, is one of two armored buses procured in 2010 for the transportation of dignitaries under protection of the Secret Service, at a cost of $1.1 million each. The coaches were assembled in Tennessee on frames made in Canada.
Interagency Resources Management Conference
The Interagency Resources Management Conference was a federal executive conference of the GSA, held annually between 1961 and 2011 as a multi-day offsite event. It gave awards to federal government teams that improved government operations or communications with the public. Its attendees included Senior Executive Service members from a range of agencies, along with members of industry. After IRMCO 2011, the GSA announced that it was discontinuing IRMCO because it no longer had a purpose. Instead, in 2012 the GSA held a one-day Acquisition Excellence event focused on efficiency.Technology Transformation Services
The GSA established the Federal Citizen Information Center in 1970 to connect the public to government information and services. In 2009, the GSA created the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies to expand the effort to serve the public through technology.In 2014, the GSA began managing the Presidential Innovation Fellows program and launched 18F with a team focused on improving the federal government's digital services. Between 2014 and 2024, 18F worked with 34 agencies on 455 projects, such as improving online permitting and complaint submission processes. 18F helped the Federal Election Commission move its website to the Cloud.gov platform, which FEC projected would save it $1.2 million annually.
The GSA established the IT Modernization Centers of Excellence in 2017 to accelerate the modernization of IT infrastructure and reduce legacy IT spending across the government. The Centers of Excellence are a fee-for-service consulting service. For example, they helped the Agriculture Department avoid $42 million in costs by closing data centers.
The GSA consolidated those offices into the Technology Transformation Service in 2016, which became a sub-unit of the Federal Acquisition Service in 2017. Its mission was to improve the lives of the public and public servants by transforming how the government uses technology. TTS aims to meet the government's technology needs: acquisition, omnichannel experience, intelligent process automation, infrastructure optimization and cloud, accelerators and innovation, data and analytics, and identity management.
In 2019, TTS became responsible for shared services created in previous years by 18F: Login.gov, an identity provider, and Cloud.gov, a hosting platform. The following year, TTS's consulting teams experienced significant demand due to pressures on federal agencies to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, GSA announced the creation of the U.S. Digital Corps, a two year fellowship for early career technologists with specialities in software engineering, data science, design, and cybersecurity, housed within TTS. TTS programs also included Data.gov. That same year, TTS began investing in automation of security authorization processes for the FedRAMP program. TTS and 18F assisted with the development of multiple websites and applications in 2024, including the IRS Direct File pilot, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's get.gov, and the American Climate Corps. TTS also launched Notify.gov.
On March 1, 2025, the entire 18F office was eliminated "under direction from the White House" and weeks after Elon Musk claimed the "group was deleted." Less than a month before dissolving the office, Musk associate and TTS director Thomas Shedd told 18F and TTS that "You all are one of the most respected technology groups in the federal government," saying that 18F engineers "are so key and critical to this next phase" of building federal government technology.