“Sitting on Our Assets” is the humorous title of a depressing report by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure chaired by Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., that catalogues the enormous waste that inevitably occurs when federal bureaucrats attempt to manage assets under their control. Consider it a primer on how to flush billions of dollars down the drain without even trying.

For instance, the General Services Administration (GSA) finally got around to selling a 10-story office building in downtown Bethesda that’s been vacant for eight years when the real estate market was in the tank, forcing it to accept less than the minimum suggested bid for the property – even though it’s located just eight miles from downtown D.C. and comes with high-density zoning exemptions.