U.S. General Services Administration
Administrator Carnahan, Secretary Mayorkas, Senator Carper Urge Funding to Continue DHS Consolidation at St. Elizabeths West Campus
Photo caption: (from left to right) DHS Deputy Under Secretary for Management (DUSM) Randolph D. “Tex” Alles, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan, U.S. Senator Tom Carper, PBS Commissioner Nina Albert
Officials say project will save taxpayer money, catalyze community development, combat the climate crisis
WASHINGTON — Yesterday, General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Robin Carnahan and Senator Tom Carper (Delaware), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, joined Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for a tour of the St. Elizabeths DHS headquarters project in Washington, D.C.
The St. Elizabeths West Campus is owned by the federal government and is currently under the custody and control of GSA. GSA and DHS updated Senator Carper on ongoing efforts to consolidate multiple DHS components onto the campus. As planned, the consolidation will reduce the DHS footprint by over one half million square feet, saving the government an estimated $475 million over 30 years. The consolidation program is comprehensive and includes the new headquarters building for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The Biden administration’s FY22 budget request for St. Elizabeths seeks more than $392.8 million for the design and construction of a new headquarters for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, the design of a new headquarters building for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investments in campus infrastructure and historic preservation activities.
To date, the project has created over 2,000 jobs and these investments will further catalyze economic activity in the surrounding Ward 8 of Washington D.C.
“Funding to complete DHS’s consolidation at St. Elizabeths Campus is critical: not only will this project improve DHS operations, it will do so while saving taxpayer money, creating jobs, and demonstrating what building sustainability looks like,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “This project has already had a positive impact: transforming what had been an underutilized historic property into a state-of-the-art headquarters for DHS and providing an economic catalyst for the surrounding community. Now we must continue the job, deepening our commitment to sustainability, and expanding economic opportunity for families and businesses in Ward 8 and beyond - all while supporting DHS’s vital mission.”
“I thank Senator Carper and Administrator Robin Carnahan for visiting DHS headquarters and for their work on this important consolidation project,” said Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “We are grateful for DHS’s partnership with the GSA as we work to co-locate more DHS Components at the St. Elizabeths campus over the next few years.”
“It was great to join Administrator Carnahan and Secretary Mayorkas for a tour of the St. Elizabeths DHS headquarters project in Washington, D.C. DHS headquarters consolidation at St. Elizabeths will help DHS achieve its mission while also saving taxpayer dollars in the long term. But for nearly two decades, inadequate and inconsistent funding from Congress has stalled the completion of the project – which is crucial to the department’s success,” said Senator Tom Carper. “Now, it’s time to finish what we started and fully fund this project, which will improve DHS’s daily operations, reduce DHS’s climate footprint, and save taxpayers millions of dollars in the next 30 years.”
“I’m very pleased that Senator Carper and GSA Administrator Carnahan toured St. Elizabeths to see progress on the consolidation project,” said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. “The project is immensely important to the federal government as well as to the District of Columbia, where DHS will be consolidated. Currently, DHS agencies are leasing expensive office space across the National Capital Region. Consolidating the headquarters of these agencies on one campus here will improve national security coordination and cooperation, while reducing the federal government’s footprint and saving taxpayer funds. DHS consolidation will also lead to more spending in D.C. by DHS employees, assisting the D.C. economy.”
Photos from the tour are available upon request.
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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet and overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services oss government, in support of the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.