GREENBELT, Md. — The annual federal budgeting process began with a rocky start this week as Democrats decried priorities laid out in the House Financial Services and General Government appropriations proposal.
Among the most important local priorities for Maryland's federal lawmakers is securing additional funds for the site preparation and construction of a new FBI headquarters complex.
"Earlier this week I asked Director Wray about it," said Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) during a ZOOM interview with WUSA9 this week. "From the FBI's perspective, he assured me that the FBI is cooperating with GSA."
GSA is the General Services Administration. It is basically the federal government's property manager. A site selection panel awarded Greenbelt the site for a new FBI headquarters November 2023.
It will join the Pentagon and CIA headquarters as one of the largest federal construction projects in the history of the United States. It's also expected to be the most expensive.
"House Republicans are trying once again, to derail funding for the FBI headquarters," said Sen Van Hollen.
Hundreds of millions have already been approved and allocated to begin the project. However, a House appropriations bill released earlier this week includes language that would kill the Greenbelt site selection, in favor of keeping FBI Headquarters situated in the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover building or moving it to another federally owned location within the District.
"There's an effort among House Republicans to derail this project," said Sen Van Hollen, "We will overcome that as we did last year. There was an effort in the House to zero out support for a new FBI headquarters."
Now, seven months after the big GSA decision that chose Greenbelt over another site in Springfield, Virginia, lawmakers are still waiting for the results of a GSA Inspector General investigation that began after Virginia's elected leaders raised concerns about political interference and perceived conflicts of interest in the site selection process.