Hoyer Statement on New Report from FBI and GSA on the FBI Headquarters

Statement

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) issued the following statement today after the General Services Administration (GSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a report recommending that the FBI headquarters remain at their current site on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. In July, the Trump Administration canceled the previous procurement process for the new FBI headquarters because there were insufficient funds appropriated to complete the project. The report indicates that GSA will ask Congress for over $2 billion in new appropriations to construct a new headquarters at the Pennsylvania Avenue location:

"Throughout the Bush and Obama Administrations, the FBI and GSA repeatedly told Congress that the FBI needs a new, fully consolidated headquarters, going so far as to stress the need for selecting a new site because the existing location does not allow the FBI to consolidate the almost 11,000 headquarters employees into one facility. Time and time again, Congress was told that the FBI needed a new, fully consolidated headquarters in order to complete its vital national security mission, and it was made clear that building a new headquarters at the Pennsylvania Avenue location would not achieve that objective and be exceedingly costly for taxpayers.

"Now the Trump Administration has reversed course from the two previous Administrations, telling lawmakers in a new report that the Bureau can remain at the Pennsylvania Avenue location. This about-face is inconceivable. The report released today compares apples to oranges to give the appearance that remaining on Pennsylvania Avenue would be cheaper, but in fact, the building would not have space for the almost 11,000 employees, which is the point of building a new headquarters. The FBI has made it clear that they need a new consolidated headquarters in order to perform its counterterrorism and law enforcement missions.

"This sudden and unexpected decision by the Trump Administration raises serious questions about what or who could have motivated such a decision. Why the Trump Administration would so suddenly forgo years of study that led to careful recommendations -- not to mention the millions of dollars spent in the effort to move the Bureau's headquarters -- is beyond astounding, and quite frankly, extremely alarming.

"We must get to the bottom of why the Trump Administration reached this decision. I call on Congress to reject this reckless proposal, and look into why the Administration would make such a careless decision."

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