The decision to relocate the FBI to Maryland was again under the microscope on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning.
Lawmakers pressed FBI and General Services Administration officials about the path to choosing the 40-acre WMATA-owned site in Greenbelt after the selection last month sparked backlash from Virginia lawmakers — and reportedly from the FBI itself. The GSA inspector general is also investigating the selection process, he announced in a Nov. 30 letter.
The GSA’s newly appointed Public Buildings Service commissioner, Elliot Doomes, who previously led the agency’s D.C.-area footprint, joined FBI Finance and Facilities Division Assistant Director Nicholas Dimos Tuesday testifying before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Nina Albert, who served as PBS commissioner until October and now serves as D.C.’s acting deputy mayor for planning and economic development, was initially scheduled to appear Tuesday but wasn’t able to attend. On the same day, D.C. officials were negotiating with the owner of the Wizards and Capitals to keep the teams from moving to Virginia.
Doomes pushed back against assertions the GSA’s process in selecting the FBI headquarters was flawed or improperly influenced. He reiterated previous agency statements that it chose Greenbelt because it provided the best transportation access, the greatest certainty of project schedule and the lowest overall cost to taxpayers.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Emily Wishingrad over at Bisnow
