"Clearly, for this Department to operate effectively, DHS and the Congress needed to invest in upgrading its infrastructure."
March 21st, 2012
Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. David Price
"After the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed, it was clear that operating the 22 agencies within DHS from about 50 facilities throughout the metro area was a great challenge. This expansive footprint increased operational costs, hurt morale, and made it harder for the Department to work effectively as a unit. Equally apparent was the alarming condition of DHS facilities throughout the United States, such as Plum Island's Animal Disease Research Laboratory in New York, that were aging and in need of serious upgrade or replacement. Clearly, for this Department to operate effectively, DHS and the Congress needed to invest in upgrading its infrastructure.
"Almost two years ago exactly, we held a hearing on the new DHS headquarters at St. Elizabeths and the Administration's plans for further consolidating and rationalizing the DHS headquarters footprint. At that time, we were considering a $3.4 billion master plan that would consolidate a great deal of the Department's headquarters onto the West Campus of St. Elizabeths, with FEMA operating on the East Campus adjacent to the hospital. While there were three phases of construction, all DHS entities were to be moved into the new headquarters by 2016. Much has happened in those two intervening years, and unfortunately for this facility, tight purse strings have slowed DHS's plans to move into their new headquarters and consolidate leases, so that the agency might operate in fewer buildings. Now the cost is over $4 billion, and the Coast Guard is the only tenant on the St. Elizabeths campus for the foreseeable future. The 2013 budget only requests funding to complete the Coast Guard move and for road improvements for access to the campus. It does not include any funding for Phase 2, which was to begin construction for DHS central headquarters and FEMA. Similarly, GSA has no funds for this project in their 2013 request. Nor is there any funding requested for lease consolidation, meaning DHS agencies will continue to operate in scattered locations and often inferior facilities.
"A somewhat similar story concerns the replacement of the Plum Island facility. After a highly competitive process, DHS in 2009 selected Manhattan, Kansas to be the location of a new National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF) at a cost of approximately $725 million. The sale of Plum Island was to cover all Federal construction costs for this new facility. Construction of NBAF was to begin in 2011 and be ready for operation in 2015. However, three years later, the declining real estate market now predicts that if Plum Island were sold, the proceeds might only cover remediation costs on the island itself. And construction has not even begun at the proposed NBAF facility because of concerns about site security and the potential risk of release of foot-and-mouth disease virus. It is my understanding that, with 65 percent of the design completed, many of these concerns have been alleviated, but we are waiting for the National Academy of Sciences to draw the same conclusion based on their ongoing review.
"Because of additional design requirements and less funding than originally anticipated, scheduled completion of the NBAF is now ten years away, requiring this Committee to make significant infrastructure investments in Plum Island. At the same time, DHS is reevaluating how it may use NBAF, which may alter its costs substantially. The budget therefore includes no funds for NBAF construction in 2013 and has $15 million for critical repairs at Plum Island.
"Today I hope to explore the path forward for both of these important projects. Are we still committed to them? And if so, at what cost and over what timeframe? Under Secretary Borras and Assistant Secretary O'Toole, I look forward to an enlightening discussion today."
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
