Norton Writes Letter to EEOC in Support of Move to NOMA (5/17/07)

May 23, 2007

Norton Writes Letter to EEOC in Support of Move to NOMA
May 17, 2007
Washington, DC-The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton today released a letter she wrote to Naomi Earp, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), stating her full support of Earp's efforts to relocate EEOC headquarters from 18^{th and L Streets, NW to new office space near Union Station and to clear up reported "serious misinformation and surprising stereotypes by some EEOC employees," about the amenities and options available in the business district known as NOMA (North of Massachusetts Avenue), where EEOC is to be located. Norton, a former EEOC chair and currently chair of the House committee with jurisdiction over the General Services Administration (GSA)--the federal government's realtor and landlord--wrote that NOMA has undergone a makeover and building boom over the last two decades that has drawn federal agencies and public, private and non-profit entities, among them CNN, XM Radio, Carefirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Congresswoman has spoken with Ms. Earp and Liz Price, President of the NOMA Business Improvement District (BID). Patricia Floyd, President of EEOC Local 2667, said that the press reports of employee concerns did not reflect the union's concerns and she asked that someone come to speak to employees. Norton has already asked the BID to seek an opportunity to offer a fuller description of near-term attractions in or on their way.}^{Congresswoman Norton said, "Agency preferences are important and amenities must be provided on site. At the same time...today's staggering federal deficit...requires that GSA demonstrate to Congress that it is ensuring that the federal government gets the best price while agencies are comfortably and conveniently accommodated." The law requires that GSA perform the function of locating federal offices in order to control for uniform policies cost.
Norton also stressed the substantial federal investment in the area located close to Congress. She was instrumental in getting the new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms headquarters to locate at New York and Florida Avenue and federal funding for New York Avenue subway, which was funded equally by D.C. and the business community, giving NOMA two nearby subways. "The major location challenge that GSA finds here is that there is not enough space for many agencies who desire to consolidate and expand in the District," Norton said. "To accommodate the desire of agencies to locate here, the federal government has invested in NOMA significantly."
The full text of Norton's letter follows.

May 17, 2007
Chairwoman Naomi Earp
U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission
Dear Chairwoman Earp:
Recent news reports concerning Equal Opportunity Commission's relocation to new office space near the U.S. Congress and Union Station revealed serious misinformation and surprising stereotypes by some EEOC employees concerning the location as well as the options and authority of federal agencies concerning their location. I write to fully support your efforts to relocate your agency in keeping with applicable laws and regulations. I write as a former chair of the EEOC, with great respect for your continuing efforts to afford equal opportunity to all Americans, and currently as chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, with jurisdiction over the General Services Administration (GSA), including the location of federal agencies.
GSA alone, and not federal agencies, is responsible for leased office space nationwide and for finding space for almost all federal agencies. According to Title 40, subtitle I, paragraph 584, the Administrator of the General Services Administration is responsible for assigning and reassigning space. She exercises this authority after "consultation" with the head of an agency, and upon the determination that the "assignment or reassignment is advantageous to the Government in terms of economy, efficiency, or national security." GSA is assigned this responsibility because, unlike other federal agencies, GSA has unique professional and technical knowledge. Importantly, this function is assigned to GSA in order to assure adherence to uniform polices, to control important variables, such as cost per square foot, and to assure that taxpayers receive the best value for available federal funds. The subcommittee has made it clear to GSA that especially today, when Congress is seeking to reorder its priorities as well as to reduce a dangerously high deficit, it is unacceptable to permit agencies to redline locations, particularly when their proximity to public transportation and amenities, and, as in the case of the NOMA area, when federal investments have been made to accommodate the location of federal agencies to the area.
NOMA's prime location led to a makeover that began almost two decades ago. NOMA is located in the Federal Central Employment Area (CEA) and qualifies to be included in the CEA because it "contains a mix of land uses that efficiently support the existing federal activities." The private sector has long given NOMA its vote of confidence. For years NOMA has been the headquarters for brand name private, public, and non-profit entities, among them CNN, XM Radio, Carefirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has a child care facility available to Federal employees, Kaiser Permanente, CBS and NPR, with the latter two, expected to relocate to the area soon. NOMA is in the midst of a building boom and will have about 60% office space and 40% rental housing. The confidence in the private market is so high that among the first establishments to be constructed will be an upscale super market, an amenity found in no other are of downtown Washington. In addition, a number of other factors make NOMA a particularly desirable location for federal agencies. NOMA is near the Capitol and the Senate and House office buildings. There are, at least for now, low rates that are significantly below those in other downtown locations. NOMA has two subway stations, the recently added New York Avenue Metro and Union Station, the city's transportation hub where all existing forms of transportation converge, including rail, light rail, Metro, bus and taxi service. Union Station is also the setting for the only upscale mall in the District, with more than 130 shops and restaurants.
Further, a free shuttle by the NOMA Business Improvement District (BID) will run from One NOMA Station to Union Station. I urge you to invite members of the NOMA BID to give a full presentation of this makeover and to give a true idea of the amenities in and coming soon to NOMA. Among them are: 10,000 square feet of retail at the NOMA Marriot Hotel between One NOMA station and the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms building, across the street from the EEOC location; 9,000 square feet of publicly accessible retail in the nearby ATF building, including a full service bank; and Capitol Plaza, just catty cornered from the One NOMA Station, with 10,500 square feet of retail. A park will also be included within NOMA.
Washington, D.C. is unique among large cities in that little inducement is needed for our major sector, federal agencies, to remain or locate in the nation's capital, near the seat of government. Instead, the major location challenge that GSA finds here is that there is not enough space for many agencies who desire to consolidate and expand in the District. To accommodate the desire of agencies to locate here, the federal government has invested in NOMA significantly. The ATF headquarters signaled that NOMA was regarded as an ideal site for federal facilities. To make the point unmistakable, the federal government also invested in an extra Metro station that had not been planned as part of the Metro system and specifically positioned the station to serve the NOMA area, more than fulfilling the GSA requirement that federal facilities be located in close proximity to public transportation. As a result, NOMA has a new Metro station on the north end, across from the intended EEOC office location, in addition to the Union Station Metro that has long served much of NOMA on the southern end.
In years of GSA oversight, in Democratic and Republican administrations alike, this subcommittee has found evidence that agency preferences, not GSA mandates, too often dominate GSA location selections. Agency preferences are important and amenities must be provided on site. At the same, time statutory requirements can no longer be ignored. Today's staggering federal deficit and the Majority's decision to attend to neglected domestic priorities, require that GSA demonstrate to Congress that it is ensuring that the federal government gets the best price while agencies are comfortably and conveniently accommodated. This nationwide obligation increases exponentially when the federal government has moved in advance to target an area with office space, such as the ATF headquarters on the north end of NOMA, as well as new transportation facilities.
The subcommittee does not seek to penalize the GSA or other federal agencies. However, we are resolute in our determination that the federal office space not only reflects the best accommodations for agencies, but also the best deal for taxpayers.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Holmes Norton}