Reports about $622M cut from Redstone Arsenal project ‘incorrect,’ congressional offices say

Reports that $622 million in construction funding has been cut from the FBI’s campus at Redstone Arsenal are “incorrect” and “not accurate,” according to spokespersons from U.S. Sen. Katie Britt and U.S. Rep. Dale Strong’s offices.

“Previous funds for FBI Redstone were one-time appropriations to build the FBI’s state of the art facilities in Huntsville,” a spokesperson, who labeled the reports “incorrect,” from Strong’s office said Saturday. Strong represents the 5th Congressional District where the arsenal is located.

“The FBI has confirmed that this funding has been obligated and that this year’s funding levels reflect that additional funding was not required to complete construction,” the spokesperson said.

Sean Ross, a spokesperson from Britt’s office, said “the reporting we’ve seen on this issue is not accurate.”

“The FBI’s construction at Redstone has already been fully funded through previous appropriations measures,” Ross said.

The New York Times and Tribune Media Services reported the cut would make up the majority of the $654 million in cuts announced Friday that Republicans have negotiated with Democrats.

But Ross said Saturday the cuts would come from “base funding for FBI operations nationwide.”

The Times quoted Texas Republican Congressman Chip Roy in saying 95% of the cut was from retired U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby’s earmark for the FBI at the arsenal “because Richard Shelby is no longer here to defend his pet project building back in Alabama.”

The FBI is building a sprawling, college-like campus that could eventually create as many as 5,000 jobs. In 2019, the FBI said more than 4,000 jobs would be shifted to Redstone Arsenal. It has also been touted as a second FBI headquarters.

The more than $621 million represents only about half of the $1.3 billion total project cost.

Efforts to reach the FBI headquarters in Huntsville were unsuccessful.