The watchdog for the General Services Administration will investigate the process that led the federal agency to choose a Maryland site over two others for the new FBI headquarters.
Acting Inspector General Robert Erickson wrote in a letter released Thursday that “the agency’s procedures and the on-site procedures for relocating the FBI headquarters will be compared. “
“We intend to begin this work and will send you and the appropriate committees a copy of any reports that may result from this assessment,” Erickson wrote in the letter to Virginia Sen. Mark Warner.
Eleven members of Virginia’s congressional delegation welcomed the resolution as a whole and called on the GSA to “suspend all relocation-related activities until the IG investigation is complete. “
“In light of overwhelming evidence suggesting that the General Services Administration (GSA) administered a tainted policy selection process, we agree that an inspector general investigation is the appropriate next step,” the Virginia lawmakers wrote. .
Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine, both Democrats, as well as Democratic Reps. Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly, Jennifer McClellan, Bobby Scott, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton, and GOP Reps. Morgan Griffith, Jen Kiggans and Rob Wittman signed the statement. Formation
Many Maryland lawmakers, at the state and national level, said in a joint statement that “any objective assessment will show that the GSA reached this resolution after a thorough and transparent process. “
“After comparing the facts, GSA has decided that Greenbelt offers the lowest value and most productive cost to taxpayers, the easiest access to public transportation, the greatest schedule certainty to ensure the FBI can move to a new headquarters that meets your project and security needs. as soon as possible, and the greatest opportunity to advance the justice goals of the Biden-Harris Administration,” they wrote.
“The GSA has made a resolution accordingly,” they added. “While some may not like this result, the GSA has clearly demonstrated that this procedure is transparent. “
Among them were U. S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen; U. S. Representatives Steny H. Hoyer, Glenn Ivey, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, and David Trone; Governor Wes Moore; Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller; and Angela Alsobrooks, superintendent of Prince George’s County.
Maryland-Virginia battle
The site-variety procedure for the new headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, whose existing construction in the District of Columbia has been in disrepair for years, took more than a decade. For much of this period, lawmakers in Maryland and Virginia attempted to bring federal government to their state.
The General Services Administration announced Greenbelt as its first pick for its new headquarters in early November, prompting celebrations from the state’s elected officials and impassioned comments from Virginia lawmakers.
The GSA had been deciding among Greenbelt; Landover; and Springfield, Virginia.
FBI Director Christopher Wray criticized the GSA’s resolution in a memo to employees, saying he and others had “concerns about the fairness and transparency of the process,” though he also said those “concerns were not about the resolution itself, but about the process. “”.
Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer dismissed complaints about the GSA resolution in an interview in early November.
“The director wants to be in the District of Columbia. He has made it very clear he wants to be in Washington, D.C. He does not want to move. Almost every expert has said that’s not tenable, consistent with the security of the FBI,” Hoyer said. “So, you know, I’m sorry he feels that way. I think he’s absolutely wrong in his representation.”
Jennifer covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her policy spaces come with congressional policies, policies and legal challenges, with an emphasis on health care, unemployment, housing and family assistance. Before joining States Newsroom, Jennifer covered Congress for CQ Roll Call for more than six years. As a budget and appropriations reporter, she followed the annual federal investment procedure as well as crisis relief and spending related to COVID-19. Jennifer is originally from northern Pennsylvania and holds degrees in journalism and political science from Penn State University. After graduating, she began her journalism career as a reporter for the Daily Times in Maryland, where she covered state and local government. Then, she Jennifer moved to Washington, D. C. to work as a web producer at Politico.
Visit SUBSCRIBE to sign up for our morning newsletter.
With the Maryland Department of the Environment set to release a final recommendation in a matter of days on what the state needs to…
The resolution to cut $3. 3 billion has some answers, even as anxiety grows over the next budget challenge and emerging education investment needs.
Laurel Police Chief Russell Hamill said the state’s law on coverage of child interrogations has created “unintended consequences. “
Sign up to get the Maryland Matters Memo in your inbox every morning.
REPUBLISHING TERMS
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
If you have any questions, please contact Editor Danielle Gaines at [protected].