Published November 1991 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd An Independent Endorsement of the Clarksburg FBI Project Recently, an independent report was issued, confirming my original reasons for urging the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to consider West Virginia as a location for its planned high technology Fingerprint Identification Division. A study undertaken by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) underscores the urgent need for a nationwide automated fingerprint identification system, and endorses the soundness of the FBI's plan to automate its Fingerprint Identification Division and to locate the division in West Virginia. According to the OTA, the new system is a top priority among the nation's law enforcement personnel, and is vitally needed for a successful national crackdown on crime. With specific reference to the Identification Division's move to Clarksburg, the OTA cites the advantages of a stable, high quality workforce in West Virginia, the state's lower cost of living, and the shorter commutes that will be possible in the area of the Identification Division's headquarters. The OTA also contrasts the advantages of locating the fingerprint identification operation in West Virginia with the disadvantages of the FBI's current location in Washington, D.C., including the inadequacy of space for the needed updating of technology and services at the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the high employee turnover rate in Washington, the inability of the FBI to match competitive salaries in the national capital area, and the long commutes and increasing traffic into and out of the District of Columbia. Since early September, more than 7,000 persons have applied for the initial 200 positions to be filled at the FBI Identification Division's satellite office opening in Clarksburg. Based on FBI projections, by the year 2000 as many as 3,000 or more employees may be needed at the new facility. Ground has already been broken for the FBI's new Clarksburg Identification Division facility, and the Bureau recently awarded the first of six construction contracts, an $18 million award for site preparation and utilities construction for the new complex. The remaining construction contracts are expected to be awarded next year. With all West Virginians, I look forward to the completion and full staffing of the FBI's Fingerprint Identification Division, and to the wider benefits that it will mean for our state and for the nation. November 20, 1991