Hoyer, Federal & Local Officials Dedicate New Drug Research Building at FDA White Oak

SILVER SPRING, MD -Congressman Steny H.  Hoyer (D-MD) joined local and federal officials today at the future U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in the White Oak neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland to dedicate FDA Building Fifty-One, the latest completion in the project to consolidate 39 FDA facilities at one state-of-the-art campus. The consolidation project at the White Oak location was brought about in part due to efforts by Rep. Hoyer and the Maryland delegation who have secured close to $700 million for FDA White Oak since 2000. 

Rep. Hoyer's prepared remarks below.

"I'm happy to join with you to dedicate the new Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) office building. 

"This magnificent building will house over 1,000 dedicated FDA employees and contractors who fight every day to ensure that our nation has a safe and effective drug supply. 

"Given the challenges of our aging population's increasing reliance on medication, and the expanding global marketplace, the FDA's work has never been more critical. 

"With the opening of this facility, we take another important step forward in our ongoing efforts to consolidate the FDA here at White Oak and enable the agency to fulfill its mission in a modern and efficient environment.

"I know that my colleagues in the Maryland delegation share my view that the consolidation effort will stand among our proudest and most vital achievements.

"Over the years, in the face of some very lean budget requests, we helped secure nearly $700 million for this project.  Some 8,000 employees- now scattered across the region, often in outdated and dilapidated buildings- will eventually be able to come together on this state-of-the-art, high-tech campus.

"I especially want to thank Congressman Wynn, Senators Sarbanes and Mikulski, and LABQUEST - they fought alongside me, tooth and nail, to keep this project on schedule by securing the necessary appropriations and working to put the project back on track by pushing to include the much needed funding in the administration's budget request. 

"This perseverance eventually paid off in fiscal year 2005, when the Administration requested $88.7 million for FDA White Oak, including the funds to construct the CDER II building we are celebrating today.  In many ways, this building marks a turning point- it's symbolic of the project's ultimate resurgence.

"I am always pleased to visit White Oak to see how far this project has come since its inception; but I want to remind everyone here that our work is not yet done.  We still have eight buildings to complete and significant challenges remaining. 

"Like my colleagues, I am committed to continuing to work with my friends at LABQUEST and our partners at GSA and FDA to finish this project on schedule.

"In the end, we're here today because we ask and expect so much of the scientists, researchers, and staff at the FDA- and in return, they deserve a first rate facility. And here, they're going to have one- a place that's going to encourage their creativity, their efficiency, and their superior performance. It's also a complex that will attract some of the best minds, and help keep them here.

"So today we can be proud of all we've accomplished, for the FDA, for the federal government and the citizens it serves, and for the State of Maryland.  But even more, we can look forward to the day when some of the world's brightest doctors, scientists, and researchers will call White Oak home.  Today, we're one step closer."