Proposed Appropriations Bill Revitalizes Plan for New FBI Headquarters
On October 19, 2021, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-MD), chairman of the Senate Appropriations, released proposed legislation for the remaining nine Senate appropriations bills for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. The bill making appropriations for the Departments related to Commerce, Justice, and Science allocates $632 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) new headquarters (HQ).
Structural and security concerns of the FBI’s HQ at the J. Edgar Hoover Building have surged for two decades. A tour of the Hoover Building in 2015 revealed dated technology, and inefficient structure with cracked concrete, and makeshift workstations in storage.
Congress first addressed concerns related to the Hoover Building in 2011, approving a resolution authorizing the General Services Administration to begin site selection of a new HQ. The GSA announced eligible sites in 2014 and procured a short list of three locations in 2015, following Congress’ approval and funding. In preparation for the move, the FBI began consolidating various leased buildings into the Hoover Building.
In July of 2017, however, the GSA scraped the plan to move the HQ due to an $882 million funding gap between GSA’s budget request for the project and funding appropriated by Congress. House Democrats suggested the cancelation was motivated by a conflict of interest with former President Trump, who expressed interest in acquiring the land which houses the FBI HQ before running for office. As a federal employee, however, he was ineligible to purchase the property, so Democrats were concerned he halted the plan to prevent a competitor from acquiring the land when the HQ moves.
According to a letter from Senator Van Hollen (D-MD), the FBI’s HQ has “severely impeding the FBI’s ability to meet its critical law enforcement and national security missions.” Senators Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined the letter, urging the Biden Administration to re-initiate a new HQ plan.
According to the proposed bill, the GSA will have 180 days to report on the construction of a new HQ for the FBI following enactment on the “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.”
The House’s Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill for FY 2022 reiterates the verbiage of the Senate’s bill, directing the GSA to collaborate with the FBI to submit a prospectus for a new HQ building.
"GSA continues to work with its stakeholders to determine the best path forward for providing a fully consolidated FBI headquarters facility," stated a GSA spokesperson.