MoCo Fears Loss of Jobs to Pr.Geo.'s

Montgomery County Council members tried to draft Sen. Ben Cardin (D) yesterday to wade into a potential bi-county dispute over federal jobs.

During a luncheon chat with Cardin, council members said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is pressing to move some federal jobs from the Parklawn Building in Twinbrook to a location in Prince George's County when the General Services Administration's lease expires in 2010.

Council member Marc Elrich said it was not "good policy for us to cannibalize each other."

Cardin promised to look into it, smiling as he said, "That's what we senators do. We referee fights among our Congressional delegation."

In general, Cardin said he agrees that jobs should not be moved when space is available. But, he added that the delegation is also trying to help Prince George's develop land around its Metro stations.

Hoyer's press secretary Stephanie Lundberg said this morning that Prince George's offers lower cost office space and "it's important to consider the taxpayer dollars and the most cost-effective choice for federal office space."