The General Services Administration announced changes in criteria for choosing a location for a new FBI headquarters on Friday, boosting two potential places in Maryland, which has been competing with Virginia for the bureau’s new home, according to NBC Washington.
The new criteria give more weight to cost and social equity concerns than proximity to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.Maryland officials, including Gov. Wes Moore, were encouraged that the announcement “corrects the flawed approach released in September that ignored taxpayer costs and the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to equity,” they said in a statement.“Today’s revised guidelines are a critical step in the right direction,” said Maryland officials, including Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen. “This update is in line with the language we secured in last year’s omnibus funding bill that both delegations supported.”Maryland officials, including Rep. Steny Hoyer and six other members of the state’s congressional delegation, remain confident that two locations in Maryland, either Greenbelt or Landover in the suburbs of the nation’s capital, “provide the best operational and cost-effective options for the new, consolidated FBI Headquarters,” they said.“These sites meet and exceed the criteria laid out by GSA,” the officials said. “They are shovel-ready with exceptional access to transportation and will spur greater equity and opportunity, in line with the Biden-Harris Administration’s executive orders. We will continue working with GSA to ensure these factors are taken into consideration.”Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner expressed concern about the changes in a joint statement of their own.
