FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Senate Review of State Department Training Facility Costs

Original title: AVOIDING DUPLICATION: AN EXAMINATION OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT'S PROPOSAL TO CONSTRUCT A NEW DIPLOMATIC SECURITY TRAINING FACILITY

January 1, 2016

government spending diplomatic security federal training facilities budget oversight infrastructure

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

The Frame

What this does

The hearing addresses a decision to spend $461 million on a new facility instead of an alternative that auditors estimated would save taxpayers $188 million immediately and $812 million over a decade.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

U.S. Department of State

The agency responsible for the construction and operation of the new diplomatic security training facility.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

The agency that reviewed the proposals and made the final decision to approve the Virginia site.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)

The agency that proposed an alternative expansion of its existing facilities in Georgia.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2016.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This Senate hearing examines why the State Department was authorized to build a new $461 million security training facility in Virginia despite internal government audits suggesting that expanding an existing federal facility in Georgia would be significantly cheaper. The committee investigated why the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) chose the more expensive option, which lacks certain training capabilities compared to the alternative.

Key Facts

The State Department received approval to build a new training facility at Fort Pickett, Virginia, at a cost of $461 million.
The approved $461 million plan excludes classroom-based soft skills training, dormitories, and a cafeteria.
An alternative proposal to expand the existing Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia, was estimated to cost $273 million.
OMB auditors recommended the FLETC option, citing immediate savings of $188 million.
The FLETC option was projected to save $812 million over 10 years compared to the State Department's plan.
The State Department's original 2012 master plan for a consolidated training facility was estimated at $950 million, later reduced to $907 million.
The State Department has been attempting to consolidate 19 separate diplomatic security training facilities since 1993.

Why It Matters

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did the Senate hold this hearing?

To investigate why the government chose a more expensive construction plan for a diplomatic security training center when a cheaper, existing facility could have been expanded.

What is the difference in cost between the two proposals?

The approved Virginia facility costs $461 million, while the alternative expansion in Georgia was estimated at $273 million.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Overriding Auditor Recommendations

The Director of the OMB chose a more expensive construction plan despite internal auditors explicitly recommending a cheaper alternative that offered more capabilities.

Office of Management and Budget U.S. Department of State

Connected Entities

personDavid Mader“Acting Deputy Director for Management, OMB”Map →

personGregory B. Starr“Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State”Map →

personRon Johnson“Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”Map →

locationForeign Affairs Security Training Center“Proposed facility at Fort Pickett, Virginia”Map →

personConnie L. Patrick“Director, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)”Map →

organizationFederal Law Enforcement Training Center“Existing training facility in Glynco, Georgia”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance85
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy75
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment40
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools