Federal government cancels costly, decade-long search for a new FBI headquarters

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post




By Jonathan O'Connell July 10 at 6:36 PM

The federal government is canceling the search for a new FBI headquarters, according to officials familiar with the decision, putting a more than decade-long search by the bureau to move out of the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building back at square one.

The decision follows years of failed attempts by federal officials to convince Congress to fully back a plan for a campus in the Washington suburbs paid for by trading away the Hoover Building to a real estate developer and putting up nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds to cover the remaining cost.

Officials from the General Services Administration, which handles federal real estate, plan to announce the cancellation in a phone call with bidders and meetings on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the decision before it was announced.

Officials and executives involved in the process said that a lack of permanent leadership at both agencies could have hindered the case for funding. Both agencies are operating under transitioning leadership, as President Trump’s appointee to the FBI, Christopher Wray, has not yet been confirmed, and Trump has not appointed a permanent GSA administrator.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/2017/07/10/e25c1080-65af-11e7-9928-22d00a47778f_story.html

[SJMULE]

1. Now would be a good time

for tRrump to award the construction contract to build a new FBI building to a Russian Construction Co.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. They could take over the Trump Hotel once it inevitably goes belly up.

And you know that baby's going to go belly up.

[elleng]

3. Yes they could, and it's in the same neighborhood!

[YOHABLO]

14. Well Trump doesn't own the hotel, he leases it for 3 mil a year from the U.S.gov't.

He also has to pay taxes on it. He still owes contractors millions in back payments. They (the U.S. gov't) could take it over if he defaults in any way. I would be happy if they just drew a line across the Pentagon and put the FBI there. God knows it's wasted space as is.

[underpants]

4. Read this story elsewhere- the FBI is literally being undermined by the facility

The technology and general facility systems (HVAC etc. ) are incredibly arcane
Recruitment must be a bear - stuck in a storage area like "Milton" in "Office Space"
Property leasing around DC and NoVa for the staff they can't accommodate? That is incredibly expensive.

[elleng]

5. I worked across the street from the FBI building for a few years,

and suspected when they said they were 'looking' for a new location that it would be a bear of a task.

[Jim Lane]

20. And now, with Russia involved, even more of a "bear" than you knew. (n/t)

[mr_lebowski]

15. Just an FYI ... 'arcane' means in a general sense 'obscure' ... I think you meant 'archaic' :)

I'll use in a sentence: 'The arcane details of Middle-Earth's history are explained in the last 100 pages of Tolkien's book The Return of the King' ...

[underpants]

16. Thanks

That is what I meant.

[NCjack]

6. Since Trump is killing EPA, the FBI can take over the Reagan Bldg. nt

[elleng]

7. HA! Too small!

[NCjack]

8. After Trump finishes with FBI, maybe not. nt

[elleng]

9. DOUBT IT!

[lastlib]

12. After FBI finishes with tRump, HE could move into a Motel 6 room.

Or a cell at Leavenworth.

[Adrahil]

10. A major issue is cost of living.

People who work there can't afford to live in the city, and so are forced to live in the 'burbs and commute.

[riversedge]

11. Republicans in charge took away the small amt. of $$ for project. Vindictive Trump IMHO

....Then in June, House appropriators rescinded $200 million from the project, drawing exasperation from local officials who have been pushing for the government to decide among three final locations: Greenbelt, Md., Land­over, Md., or Springfield, Va.

At the time the House took back the $200 million, Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and Rep. Anthony G. Brown (D-Md.) called the decision “reprehensible.”

On Monday night, Hoyer weighed in again, calling the news that the GSA would end the search “an extremely alarming development.”

“The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are putting the safety and security of our country at risk,” he said.

[Cosmocat]

17. And yet, they will continue to lean "right"

Like vets and every other group the GOP takes a shit on ....

[Adrahil]

13. With the FBI see this as retaliation for the Russia invesrigation?

This could get wierd.

[Lars39]

18. I see this as FBI not wanting the building to be

compromised by anything Trump or Russian.

[AngryAmish]

19. Lots of available real estate outside Rockford.

Pretty cheap too.

[IronLionZion]

21. FBI Getting Trumped

These sounds like a punishment of some sort for their Russia investigation. Trump's people want to undermine the FBI and then claim they are not doing a good job and must be cut.

Maybe Trump will replace the FBI with the oath keepers or outsource our domestic law enforcement to the Russians as a way to find efficiency through the art of the deal.

There is plenty of cheap real estate in nearby PG county Maryland. The Federal government already owns land there. They could create jobs by using Russian or Chinese contractors to build it cheaply.