Obama's FY17 budget to fund new FBI HQ
The Prince George's Sentinel
By Emily Blackner
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the December announcement of $390 million toward the initial design, engineering and construction of a new headquarters for the FBI, federal officials announced on Friday, Jan. 22, that an additional $1.4 billion will be included in President Barack Obama's Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) budget request to fully cover the rest of the anticipated costs of the project.
"I am pleased to see this progress being made," U.S. Congressman Steny Hoyer said. "The FBI is critically important to protecting the security and safety of our country and I applaud the president for including federal funding that will help the FBI continue to carry out its mission."
Obama's full budget proposal will be released on Feb. 9, but the General Services Administration (GSA) made the announcement of the inclusion of the FBI funding early in conjunction with its revelation that it had issued two new Request for Proposals (RFPs) for the project. The RFPs detail what the GSA and the FBI are looking for and are requiring in the new headquarters, as well as how they will evaluate the bids.
Greenbelt and Landover, two of the three potential sites on the shortlist for the new, consolidated FBI headquarters, are located in Prince George's County. Over 40 percent of the FBI's more than 11,000 employees are already Maryland residents, according to a state report, but relocating to Prince George's County would "forever reinvent" the county's economy, said County Executive Rushern Baker III.
"Following over four years of work by Prince George's County to support the two most competitive sites available to host the consolidated FBI headquarters, today's announcement is a welcome and critical step toward a final decision," Baker said.
The president's budget proposal, once finalized, will need to be approved by both houses of Congress before the funds are released.
"Now that the president has requested full funding for the new headquarters in his FY17 budget request, as Vice Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations subcommittee, I'll work my earrings off to put the funds in the federal checkbook," said U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski.