WASHINGTON – Florida’s Republican U.S. senators Ashley Moody and Rick Scott have announced the Consolidating Aerospace Programs Efficiently at Canaveral (CAPE Canaveral) Act to relocate NASA’s headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Brevard County.
Introduced Thursday by Sen. Moody to the 119th Congress, the act is comprised of barely two pages instructing that NASA’s headquarters be transferred to Brevard County no later than one year after the legislation is enacted, if it is.
Sen. Scott, the bill’s co-sponsor, says there’s no better place than the Space Coast for NASA, claiming in part that moving the space administration’s headquarters to Florida will save American tax dollars.
“(It) will enhance efficiency and streamline operations in this important industry with proximity to private-sector partners and a top-tier workforce ready to help America reach its space exploration goals,” Scott said in a statement. “We have worked hard to make Florida the thriving aerospace hub it is today, and I look forward to the quick passage of our legislation and welcoming NASA to the best state in the nation!”
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Though Moody’s statements brought up tax dollars as well, both senators also harped on purportedly low staffing levels at NASA’s D.C. headquarters.
“As stewards of taxpayer dollars, we must ensure that any new building will be filled with employees—not empty like we have been seeing in Washington the last four years. Let’s pass the CAPE Canaveral Act and get NASA headquartered in Florida where it will thrive,” Moody said in a statement.
A news release introduced the rhetoric by pointing out soon-to-come renovations at NASA’s D.C. headquarters and claiming “the current building was filled to only 15 percent capacity,” lambasting that figure “an example of nonsensical government waste.”
That percentage was sourced from a March 2024 Public Buildings Reform Board Interim Report to Congress which approximated the utilization for select federal buildings from January to September 2023.
With a metric of one seat per every 200 square feet of usable space, NASA’s D.C. headquarters at 545,731 of usable square feet was listed at 15%. The highest of all such results came from the U.S. Agency for International Development, with 26% for 1,832,375 usable square feet, and the lowest came from the Department of Energy, at 0% for 967,674 usable square feet.
News 6 has reached out to NASA to learn if the percentage has changed since 2023.
Reach the PBRB’s March 2024 report below or by clicking here.
3.21.24 FINAL PBRB Interim Report by Brandon Hogan on Scribd
The move by Moody and Scott is the latest among Florida-based politicians to see NASA’s headquarters in Brevard County.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has talked about the move at length, with some of his remarks also relying much on the same claims that NASA’s D.C. headquarters are largely empty.
“I was talking to the director before we came out here, there is interest of moving the headquarters of NASA to KSC,” DeSantis said in January. “They have this massive building in D.C. and no one goes to it. Why not just shutter it and move everyone down here?”
[‘Move everyone down here:’ Gov. DeSantis proposes relocation of NASA headquarters to Florida]
Later that month, the Palm Bay City Council unanimously voted to offer up city land as the new potential space for NASA’s headquarters. City leaders said the move would boost the state’s economy while critics argue NASA should have a place in the U.S. Capitol because of federal funding.
Read the CAPE Canaveral Act in the media viewer below or by clicking here.
Mcc25302 Nasa Hq by Brandon Hogan on Scribd