Full Text of HR1303 99th General Assembly
HR1303 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, For over four decades, the United States | 3 | | government has pursued a clear policy when deciding where to | 4 | | locate its major intelligence agencies by picking suburban and | 5 | | rural settings, usually on closely guarded military | 6 | | installations; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, House Resolution 10 of the 99th General Assembly | 8 | | urged the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to relocate | 9 | | its new West Campus to St. Clair County at a site adjacent to | 10 | | Scott Air Force Base; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has | 12 | | recently made a decision to instead build its new $1.6 billion | 13 | | campus at a location in northern St. Louis; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The United States Army Corps of Engineers was | 15 | | tasked with creating a Final Environmental Impact Statement | 16 | | regarding proposed site locations for the new campus; the | 17 | | finished report contained significant errors concerning | 18 | | geographic locations and mission security protocols and risks, | 19 | | and neglected to take many factors into account, including the | 20 | | environmental conditions and former chemical weapons testing | 21 | | at the St. Louis site, the presence of Osage Nation burial | 22 | | grounds in the vicinity, and the impact of numerous federal |
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| 1 | | laws on the selection of the site; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Scott Air Force Base and the surrounding areas | 3 | | have won numerous quality of life awards from the United States | 4 | | Air Force and have received glowing reviews from the Air Force, | 5 | | the Defense Information Systems Agency, and other government | 6 | | agencies and contractors; the Scott Air Force Base area has | 7 | | also been rated highly for its wonderful educational | 8 | | opportunities through Southern Illinois University and | 9 | | highly-skilled workforce; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, It has been estimated that it will cost at least | 11 | | $130 million to acquire and prepare the 99-acre site in | 12 | | northern St. Louis for the new campus; by comparison, the | 13 | | property in St. Clair County is shovel-ready and would only | 14 | | cost $5 million to acquire, a cost that St. Clair County would | 15 | | bear since it plans to give the entire 182-acre site free of | 16 | | charge to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The members of this body strongly believe that it | 18 | | would be in the best interests of the nation and of national | 19 | | security for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to | 20 | | reconsider its decision and to relocate its West Campus to the | 21 | | St. Clair County site; therefore, be it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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| 1 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 2 | | strongly urge the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to | 3 | | reconsider its decision to not relocate its West Campus to St. | 4 | | Clair County at a site adjacent to Scott Air Force Base; and be | 5 | | it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 7 | | delivered to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the | 8 | | United States Army Corps of Engineers - Kansas City District, | 9 | | President Barack Obama, and the members of the Illinois | 10 | | congressional delegation.
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