Van Hollen Moves New FBI Headquarters Forward in Key Senate Committee Legislation

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) announced the inclusion of new language urging the General Services Administration (GSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to move forward on the proposed new FBI headquarters and requiring GSA to submit a report updating Congress on the construction of the new headquarters.

“For the last four years, President Trump did all he could to block our efforts to construct a new FBI consolidated headquarters that meets the security and capacity needs of the Bureau solely because it stood to hurt his personal financial interests. We fought back tooth and nail, and now, it’s past time to get this project back on track. That’s why I worked to include language in our proposed legislation requiring GSA to provide an update on the construction of a new headquarters and urging the FBI and GSA to work together to move forward. The status quo is unacceptable,” said Senator Van Hollen.

For years Senator Van Hollen has fought to bring the new FBI headquarters to one of two proposed locations in Maryland that will meet the Bureau’s needs, unlike its current location. The Senator will continue working to pursue this project. The report language and bill text secured by Senator Van Hollen in the FSGG Appropriations legislation is below:

FSGG report language:

New FBI Headquarters.—For more than a decade, the condition and security of the FBI’s existing headquarters in the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C. have been serious concerns of Congress, which has provided authorizations and appropriations for a new headquarters. The Committee recognizes the extensive taxpayer investment and time spent resulting in the selection of three acceptable sites in the National Capital Region for the fully consolidated FBI Headquarters. The Committee has repeatedly expressed its strong desire and direction for GSA to work with the FBI to submit a prospectus for a new, fully-consolidated headquarters building in the National Capital Region, including at one of the three-previously vetted sites in the National Capital Region that complies with prior Congressional directives and conditions set forth under the December 8, 2011 Senate Environment & Public Works Committee GSA Resolution. Any fully consolidated headquarters building must meet Interagency Security Committee Level V security standards as further described in the General Services Administration’s Fiscal Year 2017 prospectus PNCR–FBI–NCR 17 and should make use of the completed Draft Environmental Impact Statement to the fullest extent possible. The Committee urges GSA and FBI to finalize the plan for a new headquarters immediately. The report required by the fiscal year 2021 enacted Omnibus Appropriations bill on this matter is overdue and should be submitted without delay. The current J. Edgar Hoover headquarters building has significantly deteriorated over the past 45 years, with crumbling facades, aging infrastructure, and security limitations that are severely impeding the FBI’s ability to meet its critical law enforcement and national security missions. 

FSGG bill language:

SEC. 530. (a) No later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the General Services Administration shall transmit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, a report on the construction of a new headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the National Capital Region.

(b) The report transmitted under subsection (a) shall be consistent with the requirements of section 3307(b) of title 40, United States Code, and include a summary of the material provisions of the construction and consolidation of the FBI in a new headquarters facility, including all the costs associated with site acquisition, design, management, and inspection, and a description of all buildings and infrastructure needed to complete the project.

(c) Any FBI headquarters project shall result in a consolidation of space in the National Capital Area and shall meet key tenets of the space, transportation, and security requirements included in the General Services Administration’s Fiscal Year 2017 prospectus (PNCR–FBI–NCR 17).