{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141205201906/http://goodlatte.house.gov/press_releases/616", "GOODLATTE: ROANOKE'S POFF BUILDING A 'HALLMARK IN WASTE'", "2014-11-24", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "VA", "Robert Goodlatte", "G000289", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "GOODLATTE: ROANOKE'S POFF BUILDING A 'HALLMARK IN WASTE' \n                      \n                      \tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today issued a Committee report outlining the findings of the Judiciary Committee\u2019s thorough investigation into the mismanagement of taxpayer funds during the renovation of the Richard H. Poff Federal Building located in Roanoke, Virginia. \u00a0The Poff Federal Building houses several critical federal entities, including the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, the U.S. Marshals Service district headquarters, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Roanoke Regional Office. Chairman Goodlatte has aggressively sought answers from GSA regarding the cost and scope of this wasteful project.\n                      \n                      \tThe House Judiciary Committee\u2019s report documents the U.S. General Services Administration\u2019s (GSA) mishandling of the Poff Building renovation from its failure to follow fundamental procedures designed to prevent government waste to its failure to properly plan and to anticipate and manage the project. The report also highlights GSA\u2019s efforts to dodge concerns from the local community and from Congress. \u00a0\u00a0\n                      \n                      \tBelow are statements from Chairman Goodlatte and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), the Committee with jurisdiction over the GSA.\n                      \n                      \tChairman Goodlatte: \u201cOne simple phrase can sum up the renovation of the Poff Federal Building in Roanoke \u2013 it\u2019s a hallmark in waste. In 2009, it was announced that nearly $51 million of taxpayer money would be spent to make the Poff Federal Building more energy efficient. However, the project has instead resulted in ballooning costs and an overall lack of transparency, unresponsiveness, and dismissal of the public\u2019s concerns.\u00a0\n                      \n                      \t\u201cAs the Committee recently learned, problems with GSA\u2019s responsiveness and management of facilities are not isolated. Issues at the Poff Federal Building in Roanoke are symptomatic of widespread deficiencies in GSA\u2019s service and wasteful spending decisions throughout the nation. \u00a0\n                      \n                      \t\u201cThe report issued today clearly outlines the major issues with the project, including the ever increasing costs of the renovation, the lack of a thorough cost benefit analysis of the project, the process that GSA used to award contracts for the project, and the failure of GSA to meet the needs of the tenants. The Poff Federal Building is a prime example of the kind of wasteful spending in Washington that must be eliminated. It is critical that we continue to ensure that taxpayer money is spent wisely and that GSA is held accountable for this boondoggle.\u201d\u00a0\n                      \n                      \tChairman Shuster: \u201cThe Administration wasted millions of stimulus dollars in its rush to \u2018green\u2019 federal buildings without congressional input. \u00a0Chairman Goodlatte\u2019s report chronicles the misguided spending and costly mistakes of the Administration\u2019s stimulus program at a single courthouse in Virginia. \u00a0The General Services Administration can and should do better.\u201d\n                      \n                      \tKey Findings of the House Judiciary Committee Report:\n                       \n                      \t\n                      \t\tGSA failed to properly plan and squandered millions of taxpayer dollars.\n                      \t\n                      \t\tGSA violated federal contracting law & undermined public confidence by foolishly offering to pay a maximum sum for the Poff project. \u00a0\n                      \t\n                      \t\tGSA\u2019s misfeasance prevented the implementation of important security, building code, and life safety improvements.\n                      \t\n                      \t\tThe Poff project repeatedly impacted the ability of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia to administer justice and negatively impacted the ability of the Roanoke Veterans Affairs Regional Office to serve veterans.\u00a0\n                      \t\n                      \t\tGSA attempted to avoid accountability by refusing to fully address questions from the Roanoke community, the press, and Virginia\u2019s representatives in Washington, D.C.\n                       \n                      \n                      \tAdditional Information: Click here to download a PDF copy of the report, \u201cA Hallmark in Taxpayer Waste: The U.S. General Services Administration\u2019s Mismanagement of Taxpayer Funds at Roanoke\u2019s Poff Federal Building.\u201d \u00a0In June, the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee held a hearing on \u201cGSA\u2019s Failure to Meet the Needs of the Judiciary: A Case Study of Bureaucratic Negligence and Waste.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141205201906/http://goodlatte.house.gov/press_releases/616"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6874499376863241, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}