A $1.3 billion omnibus spending measure that would fund government operations through the end of September does not authorize any budget to support the General Services Administration’s new plan to establish a new FBI headquarters, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.The budget package is now headed to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature following its passage by Congress.
“The Act does not include funding for the revised headquarters consolidation plan released on February 12, 2018, because many questions regarding the new plan remain unanswered, including the revision of longstanding security requirements and changes to headquarters capacity in the national capital region,†lawmakers wrote in an explanation of the spending package.
“Until these concerns are addressed and the appropriate authorizing committees approve a prospectus, the committees are reluctant to appropriate additional funds for this activity,†they added.
Lawmakers’ explanation came a week after GSA Inspector General Carol Ochoa wrote a letter to Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Virginia) saying her office will review the agency’s decision to change its plan for the FBI headquarters consolidation project.
GSA plans to demolish the J. Edgar Hoover building and replace it with a new FBI headquarters facility under the revised strategy.
