{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-says-she-will-protect-dc-from-state-department-efforts-to-take-dc", "Norton Says She Will Protect D.C. from State Department Efforts to Take D.C.s Land at Walter Reed", "2014-10-27", "2014", "2014-10", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that she will continue to protect the 67 acres on the eastern side at the former Walter Reed Army Hospital from State Department requests for up to 13 acres of this property.\u00a0 The Department of Defense is currently in negotiations with the District of Columbia over the transfer of these 67 acres. \u00a0The State Department made the request for up to 13 acres from the District\u2019s portion after Norton helped put language in the House passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015 to authorize the transfer of the old Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Building (Building 54) and its attachments (Buildings 52, 53 and 3) from the inventory at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the District of Columbia Children\u2019s National Medical Center (Children\u2019s).\u00a0\nThe buildings cannot be repurposed except as the state-of-the-art lab space for which Children\u2019s would use it, with little change.\u00a0 The State Department has plans to use the land other than as a laboratory, requiring demolition which could cost upwards of $20 million.\u00a0 However, the State Department reportedly is seeking the land for free in violation of federal laws and rules.\n\u201cThe District of Columbia has held up its end of the bargain by working with the Department of Defense and the Department of State throughout the negotiation process, and I will hold up mine by ensuring that the Department of State is not allowed to succeed in a land grab on land set to go to the District,\u201d Norton said.\u00a0 \u201cChildren\u2019s is a national children\u2019s hospital that serves the entire national capital region and the nation.\u00a0 The State Department does not have the resources being demanded of the District, but is trying to get a usable property to destroy it and then set it aside for decades.\u00a0 If the rules that the District and other federal agencies are held to mean anything, the State Department cannot and will not succeed.\u201d\nNorton was instrumental in ensuring that just over 66 acres of the 110 acre site would be occupied by the District of Columbia.\u00a0 She also supports language in the NDAA to authorize the transfer of the old Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Building and its attachments to Children\u2019s.\u00a0 Children\u2019s has agreed to continue working with the Local Redevelopment Authority on an economic impact analysis and traffic impact study and has pledged to work with the surrounding community.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-says-she-will-protect-dc-from-state-department-efforts-to-take-dc"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8391011506319046, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}