FORT MEADE, MD — U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) today attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the Defense Adjudication Activities facility, a new 151,000 square-foot building constructed on the Fort Meade campus as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) relocation.

The new facility is a state-of-the-art LEED silver building, which provided approximately 500 jobs during the construction phase. The new facility was completed in May, 2011, and, since then, employees from 10 Department of Defense agencies have been relocating their offices here at a rate of 150 personnel per week.  The new building provides office space for 760 personnel.  The 10 agencies occupying the new facility will process security clearances for DoD personnel and contractors who work with sensitive information.

“The consolidation of the Department of Defense’s Adjudication facility at Fort Meade means more 760 high-paying jobs added to Maryland’s economy,” said Senator Cardin, a member of the Budget Committee.  “The new facility also will result in a more efficient security clearance system, ultimately shortening the length of time needed to process security clearances for both members of the military and civilians.”

The BRAC relocation is expected to bring as many as 60,000 new jobs to Maryland and 28,000 new households.  In the Fort Meade area, the state expects BRAC to bring 22,000 new jobs to the area by 2015, with 4,200 additional households.

According to the Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development, Fort Meade is the State’s largest employer with 41,000 employees.  It also is the largest of Maryland’s 17 primary military facilities.

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