D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton announced Tuesday her efforts to secure $580 million for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security consolidation project at the St. Elizabeths West Campus in Ward 8 in southeast Washington.
The $580 million is part of the House’s fiscal 2023 appropriation bills, including the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill ($380 million) and Homeland Security’s appropriation bill ($200 million).
Both of the legislative pieces passed the House Committee on Appropriations on Friday.
Norton has been a longtime supporter of the department moving to Ward 8 and has secured $2 billion over the years for the project.
“The DHS consolidation project at St. Elizabeths is immensely important to the federal government as well as to the District of Columbia, where DHS will be consolidated,” she said. “Currently, many DHS agencies operate from expensive leased spaces across the National Capital Region. Consolidating the headquarters of these agencies on one campus will improve national security coordination and cooperation while reducing the federal government’s footprint and saving taxpayer money.”
Norton said consolidation will lead to more economic activity for the District as department employees spend money in the city and that the funding “will go a long way to completing the project, improving DHS operations and improving our country’s security.”