New DHS HQDHS could lose funding for new headquarters
In the latest rounds of congressional budget cuts, the House has moved to cut funding for the construction of a new headquarters for DHS; the agency had originally planned to build a facility to consolidate the dozens of agencies that currently have thousands of workers scattered among different locations; the House passed a $42.3 billion budget for DHS which was about $3 billion less than what the President had requested; among the cuts were $160 million that DHS had requested to continue developing the new facility
In the latest rounds of congressional budget cuts, the House has moved to cut funding for the construction of a new headquarters for DHS.
The agency had originally planned to build a facility at the former St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Southeast Washington D.C. to consolidate the dozens of agencies that currently have thousands of workers scattered among different locations at its current sprawling campus.
Last Thursday, the House passed a $42.3 billion budget for DHS which was about $3 billion less than what the President had requested. Among the cuts were $160 million that DHS had requested to continue developing the St. Elizabeth’s site.
Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee moved to not include funding for the project citing concerns over the management of the project. Panel members said that “both costs and schedule of the current project are matters of concern.”
The exclusion of funding for the project has rankled DHS officials and the White House.
In a statement the White House said that DHS would be able to complete construction on a headquarters for the Coast Guard, but without funding, the new spending “bill would delay the consolidation of the Department of Homeland Security headquarters by at least two years, resulting in higher lease costs and will mean the loss of construction efficiencies and increased future construction costs.”
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D – D.C.) expressed similar concerns and offered an amendment to restore funding for the project, but eventually withdrew it as it was unlikely to have the votes necessary to pass.
“If Republicans are serious about reducing government spending, they will support my amendment, which will save taxpayers from the increased costs, both now and in the long-term, of consolidating DHS into one facility and eliminating the leasing of space at several dozen facilities,” she said.
Norton has said that she will now focus her efforts on having funding for the project included in the Senate version of the bill. She believes that the Democratically controlled Senate is more likely to support the amendment than the Republican House.
