Working with GSA, the FBI has studied a number of  alternatives for consolidation. FBI Headquarters Facilities Present Security, Space, and Condition Challenges

		The Hoover Building Does Not Meet the FBI’s Long- Term Security Requirements

According to FBI officials, the Hoover Building does not meet the FBI’s  long-term security requirements. FBI Has Implemented Several Countermeasures to Improve the Security of the Hoover Building

Over the past several years, the FBI has implemented countermeasures  at the Hoover Building to improve security, including    upgrading the building’s exterior windows;    moving and upgrading the security of the FBI business visitor center  so that it now provides internal queuing for identification checks, an X- ray screening area, a badge office, and a secure waiting area;  strengthening barriers to prevent unauthorized access;  installing new doors to the building to meet the FBI’s requirements for  protection against forced entry;  securing air intakes to keep airborne contaminants out of the building;  and    paying the District of Columbia government to restrict public metered  parking along one side of the building in order to prevent unscreened  vehicles from parking or idling near the building. As the FBI  determines its response to the recommendations, it is important that it  document decisions because of their budget implications and effect on  the planning for its long-term facility needs. The Hoover Building Is Aging and Showing Signs of Deterioration, but Needed Repairs and Recapitalization Projects Have Been Deferred

Although the Hoover Building is nearing its life-cycle age and exhibiting  signs of deterioration, GSA has decided to limit major repair and  recapitalization investments to those systems or components that affect  life safety and building functionality until it is determined whether the FBI  will remain a long-term occupant of the building. GSA  officials told us these repairs have been deferred. In its technical comments on our draft law  enforcement sensitive report, GSA reported that it has recently  recategorized the Hoover Building as a transition asset to reflect the FBI’s  concerns about the building’s security, condition, and efficiency, as well  as GSA’s own decision to limit investments in the building. Consistent with Leading Practices Thus Far, the FBI and GSA Have Identified Alternatives for Better Meeting the FBI’s Facility Needs and Are Developing an Approach for Moving Forward

		FBI and GSA Planning Actions Have Been Generally Consistent with Applicable Leading Practices in Capital Decision Making

Over the past decade, the FBI and GSA have conducted a number of  studies (see fig. In 2007, GSA and the FBI found that the need to  colocate certain FBI programs—to better enable collaboration and  facilitate information sharing—could not be met in the Hoover Building  and the annexes and that the FBI’s operations in the Hoover Building and  21 of its annexes in the National Capital Region should be consolidated. These alternatives fall into three categories:   (1) modernizing the Hoover Building; (2) demolishing the building and  constructing a new facility on the existing site; and (3) acquiring a new  consolidated headquarters facility—through federal construction or lease— on a new site. The cost estimates in figures 6 and 7 cannot be compared because the  studies and estimates were completed at different times, for different  purposes, by different consultants, using different methodologies and  facility specifications. III for a description of some of the financing  strategies that GSA may consider.) Any  alternative will take years to implement and is likely to cost over a billion  dollars. For the  FBI, documentation of decisions to implement recommendations— whether made in its 2011 security assessment of the Hoover Building or  in future assessments of its headquarters annexes against the 2010 ISC  standards—could inform decisions on how best to meet the FBI’s long- term headquarters facility needs. Recommendations for Executive Action

To ensure that complete, current security information is being used to  minimize risks to FBI facilities, operations, and personnel and to inform a  final decision on how best to meet the FBI’s long-term facility  requirements, we recommend that the Attorney General direct the FBI  Director to take the following two actions:    Document whether any recommendations from the FBI’s 2011  security assessment will be implemented at the Hoover Building. This is reasonable given the short period of time  since our report and the FBI’s ensuing analysis. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Congress directed us, in the explanatory statement accompanying the  2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, to review the J. Edgar Hoover Building  (Hoover Building)—the main headquarters building for the Federal  Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—and the FBI’s off-site locations (annexes),  which support headquarters and are dispersed throughout the National  Capital Region. We conducted our review to examine (1) the extent to  which the Hoover Building and annexes support the FBI’s operational  requirements for security, space, and building condition and (2) the extent  to which the FBI and the General Services Administration (GSA) have  followed leading capital decision-making practices in identifying  alternatives for meeting the FBI’s operational requirements and the extent  to which each alternative would address these requirements. In our July 2011 law enforcement sensitive  report, we recommended that the FBI conduct a new security assessment  in accordance with updated security standards issued in 2010.
Why GAO Did This Study

Since September 11, 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) mission and workforce have expanded, and the FBI has outgrown its aging headquarters, the J. Edgar Hoover Building (Hoover Building). As a result, the FBI also operates in over 40 annexes, the majority located in the National Capital Region. In the explanatory statement accompanying the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, GAO was directed to examine the FBI's headquarters facilities. In response, GAO examined the extent to which (1) these facilities support the FBI's security, space, and building condition requirements and (2) the FBI and the General Services Administration (GSA)--the real property steward for the Hoover Building--have followed leading capital decision-making practices in identifying alternatives for meeting the FBI's facility needs. GAO reviewed security, space, and condition assessments and planning studies; visited FBI facilities; and interviewed FBI and GSA officials.

What GAO Found

According to FBI and GSA assessments, the FBI's headquarters facilities--the Hoover Building and the headquarters annexes--do not fully support the FBI's long-term security, space, and building condition requirements. The FBI has addressed many security concerns at the Hoover Building by implementing protective measures. Furthermore, in response to a recommendation GAO made in a law enforcement sensitive version of this report issued in July 2011, the FBI has updated its security assessment of the Hoover Building in accordance with security standards issued in 2010. The assessment includes recommendations but does not indicate whether recommended actions will be implemented. While this is reasonable given the short period of time since GAO's July 2011 report, documentation of decisions on the recommendations and tracking implementation is important because of facility planning and budget implications--for both the Hoover Building and a new headquarters--and time needed to coordinate with GSA. FBI officials told GAO that the annexes will be assessed against the 2010 security standards. The officials noted, though, that the dispersion of staff in annexes creates security challenges. The Hoover Building's original design is inefficient, according to GSA assessments, making it difficult to reconfigure space to promote staff collaboration. Staff dispersion across annexes likewise hampers collaboration and the performance of some classified work. Furthermore, the condition of the Hoover Building is deteriorating, and GSA assessments have identified significant recapitalization needs. However, GSA has decided to limit investments in the Hoover Building to those necessary to protect health and safety and keep building systems functioning while GSA assesses the FBI's facility needs. This decision increases the potential for building system failures and disruption to the FBI's operations. Through studies conducted over the past decade, the FBI and GSA have considered three broad alternatives, each with variations, to try to meet the FBI's facility needs--(1) modernize the Hoover Building, (2) demolish the Hoover Building and construct a new headquarters on the existing site, and (3) acquire a new headquarters on a new site. In doing so, the FBI and GSA thus far have generally followed leading practices for capital decision making. To varying degrees, these alternatives would improve security, space, and building conditions, but each would take several years to implement. Estimates of the alternatives' costs, developed in the studies, are not comparable because they were prepared at different times and for different purposes. The FBI and GSA plan to discuss the FBI's facility needs with the Office of Management and Budget, and GSA and the FBI will need to present a business case, including current, comparable cost estimates, to support the choice of a preferred alternative and financing strategy. The FBI's 2011 security assessment of the Hoover Building, as well as information on any security improvements that may be needed at the annexes, could inform the agencies' decisions and help ensure that limited budgetary resources are allocated effectively. This is a public version of a law enforcement sensitive report that GAO issued in July 2011, which has been updated, including a modification to a recommendation, to reflect recent FBI actions. Information that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security deemed sensitive has been omitted. The FBI should document decisions about, and track its implementation of, all security recommendations for the Hoover Building and the FBI's headquarters annexes. GSA should reassess its decision to limit recapitalization investments in the Hoover Building, since the FBI is likely to stay in it for several more years while its long-term facility needs are being planned. The FBI agreed with these recommendations. GSA indicated it is working to implement GAO's recommendation.