Washington, DC – Led by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, the entire Maryland Congressional delegation, including U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Rep. John P. Sarbanes, Rep. Donna F. Edwards, Rep. Andy Harris and Rep. John Delaney, have sent letters to the heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and General Services Administration (GSA) that strongly support a site in Prince George’s County, Maryland, for the future home of the FBI.

“We understand that competition for this facility will be fierce among the region’s jurisdictions, but we firmly believe that an honest analysis of the cost of operations, security, convenience of location for staff, transportation options, and the promotion of regional equity in federal facility distribution should make Maryland the choice location for the FBI,” the lawmakers wrote in their letters.

Noting  a Maryland state report that found 43% of FBI employees call Maryland home, more than any other jurisdiction, they added: “Providing a more convenient work location for a majority of FBI workers will improve employee morale and help them save on daily transportation expenses.” In addition,” As growth continues in this new frontier in national security and crime fighting, locating the FBI in Prince George’s County, Maryland, would be a strategic location for FBI that promotes collaboration among numerous federal agencies and the FBI on cybersecurity initiatives.” 

The full text of the letter from the Maryland delegation follows. Identical letters were sent to both Mueller and Tangherlini (PDFs attached).

Mr. Robert S. Mueller III

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Mr. Daniel M. Tangherlini

Acting Administrator

General Services Administration

Dear Director Mueller:

Dear Acting Administrator Tangherlini:

We applaud the General Services Administration’s recent issuance of a Request for Information (RFI) from developers interested in building a new headquarters facility for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the Greater Washington region. We strongly encourage GSA to choose a site in Prince George’s County Maryland. We understand that competition for this facility will be fierce among the region’s jurisdictions, but we firmly believe that an honest analysis of the cost of operations, security, convenience of location for staff, transportation options, and the promotion of regional equity in federal facility distribution should make Maryland the choice location for the FBI.

Prince George’s County has potential locations that can provide more than adequate acreage while providing optimal security setbacks for this level V security facility. These sites are also located immediately proximate to the Washington Metro Rail system, commuter rail (MARC), the Capital Beltway (I-495), a variety of Metro Bus and County transit Bus lines, and regional trail networks. These convenient and secure site locations will provide an ideal location for the FBI and its more than 11,000 employees, while remaining very close to downtown Washington.

It is also worth noting that 43% of FBI employees call Maryland home, with 17% residing in Washington, DC and 33% residing in Virginia. Providing a more convenient work location for a majority of FBI workers will improve employee morale and help them save on daily transportation expenses.

In recent years Maryland has experienced unprecedented growth in the field of cybersecurity work being conducted by government agencies, academia, and the private sector.

In terms of government agencies, Fort Meade now houses the newly-created US Cyber Command, the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) in the Anne Arundel County, MD.  The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will play a leading role in establishing best practices and standards in cybersecurity out of its Montgomery County, MD headquarters, and recently became the headquarters for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCE).  The Department of Defense’s Cyber Crime Center (DC3) is located in Anne Arundel County, MD.  The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is the nation’s headquarters for advanced intelligence research and the development of groundbreaking technologies, and is headquartered at College Park, located in Prince George’s County, MD.  Joint Base Andrews, also in Prince George’s County, is a world-class airfield that could provide the FBI with a secure facility from which to respond to threats anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice.

Maryland’s public and private institutions of higher learning play a critical role in training our next generation of leaders in cybersecurity, including the campuses of the University of Maryland System and Johns Hopkins University that are located throughout the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan region.  Many of these institutions have been certified by the NSA as Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE), serving as regional centers of information assurance expertise for numerous federal agencies as well as the private sector.

Maryland has attracted numerous companies and contractors in the field of cybersecurity, particularly in the I-270 and I-95 corridors that traverse Montgomery, Prince George’s and Anne Arundel Counties.

As growth continues in this new frontier in national security and crime fighting, locating the FBI in Prince George’s County, Maryland would be a strategic location for FBI that promotes collaboration among numerous federal agencies and the FBI on cyber security initiatives.  This would give FBI much greater access to experts working on research, development, and applications for cybersecurity programs.

Regional planning and urban development experts from the Urban Land Institute’s Washington Regionalism Initiative Council, the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program and the Washington Council of Regional Governments (WashCOG) all recently expressed their support, in an editorial featured in the Washington Post, for locating the FBI in Prince George’s County Maryland.  

Thank you for your initiative in advancing this project and we look forward to working with you and our state and county stakeholders to successfully bring this project to fruition.

Sincerely,

Senator Benjamin L. Cardin

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings

Rep. Chris Van Hollen

Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger

Rep. John P. Sarbanes

Rep. Donna F. Edwards

Rep. Andy Harris

Rep. John Delaney