GAO: Federal deferred‑maintenance backlog tops $370 billion; members press for clearer data before sweeping disposals

WASHINGTON — The federal government’s backlog of deferred maintenance has more than doubled to about $370 billion, and officials and lawmakers at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing urged a data‑driven, risk‑based approach before large‑scale disposals or staffing cuts, David Maroney, director of physical infrastructure at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, told the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

Maroney told the panel the federal civilian portfolio includes more than 285,000 buildings and structures with a replacement value of about $1.2 trillion and that if agencies “don’t keep up federal ongoing maintenance, things get more expensive to replace.” He said the GAO added building condition to its high‑risk list this year because of rapid increases in the cost to address deferred maintenance and said GSA’s own backlog rose from roughly $2.53 billion in fiscal 2020 to about $6.1 billion in fiscal 2024.

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