Congress Readies to Pay $390M for New FBI HQ
Congressional leaders unveiled a massive spending bill on Wednesday that includes $390M for the FBI to find a new home.
The total budget bill that is expected to be approved comes in at $1.1T, per the Baltimore Sun. The inclusion of funding for the FBI’s new digs is seen as a positive step, but represents just a fraction of the project’s expected $1B cost.
"The FBI needs to move. It needs to move out of the Hoover building because it's dated, it's dysfunctional and even dangerous," Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) says.
The agency plans to move out of the aging J. Edgar Hoover Building and has narrowed possible sites for a new 2.5M SF HQ to Greenbelt, Landover and Springfield. The legislation does not dictate where the new HQ will be located, as the decision will remain with the GSA.
Other highlights of the spending bill include: $2B in funding for the Bethesda-based National Institutes of Health, $150M for a makeover of the Social Security Administration HQ in Woodlawn and a 1.46% pay hike for civilian federal employees. [Sun]
