Norton to Use FBI Headquarters Consolidation Hearing Wednesday to Clarify Issues of Cost and Location

Washington, DC – The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, on which she serves as ranking member, will hold a hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, March 13, 2013,at 10:00 a.m. in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building, on proposals for a new, consolidated Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in the Washington, D.C. area. Some members of Congress will be present to engage in the natural process of "marketing" potential sites in their jurisdictions. Like the others, Norton hopes that D.C. prevails in the expected competition, but as ranking member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over federal buildings, Norton said that she is tasked with ensuring a fair competition to give American taxpayers top value.

"The major focus of the hearing will be the General Services Administration's options for developing a way to pay for the headquarters," said Norton. At the hearing, Norton will clarify a misconception in some press reports that potential locations do not need to be near Metro stations.

Both as a former chair and as ranking member of the subcommittee, Norton has pressed GSA to use traditional real estate procurement practices rather than requiring up front appropriations for construction. In her opening statement, she will air her disappointment that the GSA has not used the procurement authority Congress gave the agency in 2005 that parallels private real estate procurement practices, such as land exchanges. However, she said she is encouraged that, under acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini, GSA's request for information on the FBI headquarters shows a willingness to use this authority for the first time.

Published: March 12, 2013