Special Announcement

For NFDA members tracking VA leasing developments, July 23 was a watershed day. The House Veteran's Affairs Committee acted to reauthorize. So, at long last, the 18 PACT Act leases and nine FY25 Leases have been cleared for award.

Prospectus-level VA Lease Acquisitions require authorization by four congressional committees: the two GSA oversight committees, and VA's own oversight committees in both House and Senate. While all necessary committee authorizations had already been secured for the 18 PACT Act Prospectus-level and/or major lease projects, as well as nine additional FY 25 lease projects, the VA found, when attempting to execute leases for these projects, that the rental rates were not adequate to enable the projects to proceed. Reauthorization, at higher rental rates, was necessary. Three of the four committees had already re-authorized these projects.

Next steps?

The Secretary of the VA needs to provide Congress with a 30 day notice prior to award. What is unknown is whether the 30 day notice begins upon transmission of the Secretary's notice to Congress, or, since Congress is in recess, whether the notice period starts after Congress returns to work (September 2).

Stay tuned for updates.