Senate committee releases report recommending the DHS headquarters consolidation of St. Elizabeths West campus

The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee recently released a report, titled “DHS Headquarters Consolidation at St. Elizabeths: Better Results for Less Money”, which confirms that taxpayers would save approximately $1.2 billion over the span of 30 years by consolidating the department’s St. Elizabeths West campus.

“The headquarters consolidation project at St. Elizabeths is crucial to the success of the department and to realizing the unified, cohesive DHS envisioned by Congress when it created the department 14 years ago,” said U.S. Tom Carper (D-DE), ranking minority member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “Bringing together key leadership and agency personnel in one, centralized location is critical to supporting DHS’s mission, reducing management challenges, and making the department’s operations more efficient.”

Carper said the move would allow for a swift, coordinated response across the department when emergencies occur.

The President’s budget for FY2017, which fully supports timely completion of the St. Elizabeth’s project, includes $225.6 million for DHS and $266.6 million for the General Services Administration (GSA) to construct a new federally-owned headquarters for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It also would allow for renovation for the Center Building Complex buildings, which house other federal leadership staff.

If Congress does not implement the FY2017 budget for the project fully, delays could cost the government about $70 million in unnecessary expenses.

The report recommended that Congress implement the President’s FY2017 budget and, if the government remains under continuing resolution, DHS and GSA should be provided minimum flexibility to make the most efficient use of the funding provided. Report recommendations also included that the incoming Presidential Administration should make the St. Elizabeths West project a top construction priority.