Ann Wagner: “I thank Chairman Dent for letting me offer this very important amendment. I thank my colleagues from the entire Missouri…”

“I thank Chairman Dent for letting me offer this very important amendment. I thank my colleagues from the entire Missouri delegation--Mr. Clay, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Graves, Ms. Hartzler, Mr. Long, Mr. Luetkemeyer, and Mr. Smith--for their steadfast support and bipartisan cosponsorship. This amendment is critical to meeting the current and future mission requirements of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and its replacement West headquarters in north St. Louis. This amendment allocates $801,000 for land and transfer acquisition activities associated with acquiring the land for the headquarters, conforming with the Senate's MILCON-VA bill. After an exhaustive process, the NGA identified the north St. Louis city site as a superior location because of its ability to provide the most technological, academic, and professional environment for the agency to develop the capabilities and solutions necessary to solve the country's most vital intelligence and national security challenges. Mr. Chair, the City of St. Louis is providing the land for this project at no cost to the Federal Government. Its selection ensures that NGA West's 70-year history in St. Louis continues and that the 2,000 NGA West employees who live in Missouri remain in close proximity to the headquarters. The St. Louis region has a proven track record in national defense and technology capabilities that make it an ideal choice for NGA's new home.…”