Comer pushing for RFK stadium to be attached to government funding extension

House Oversight Chair James Comer on Wednesday renewed his push to include his measure meant to woo the Washington Commanders back to the District in the current negotiations on a year-end funding deal to keep the government open.

Mr. Comer’s bill,  the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, passed the House in February with major bipartisan support but has since hit a series of snags in the Senate and only recently moved through committee in the upper chamber.

“It’s been a battle,” the Kentucky Republican told The Washington Times. “That bill shouldn’t be as complicated and as difficult to pass as it has been. For the life of me, I don’t understand why.”

The legislation would transfer the lease of the 174-acre site where the decaying stadium sits from the federal government to D.C. officials for 99 years at no cost. It would also allow for both commercial and residential development on the land, which could give the city a leg up in a bidding war for the team with neighboring Maryland and Virginia.

The team currently plays in Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, five miles east of the District.

Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris has expressed his wish to build a new stadium for the team, and recently met with congressional leaders to discuss the proposal to bring the team back to the District earlier this month.

But Mr. Comer worries that if the bill isn’t passed before this session of Congress ends, D.C. could lose out on the opportunity.

“Hopefully we’ll get it on the CR,” Mr. Comer said. “If it’s not on the CR, then we’re going to have to start all over in the next Congress. And I don’t know how much longer he’s willing to wait on Congress to act.”

Whether the bill ends up in the impending continuing resolution is still up in the air. Congressional leaders are still negotiating the final details of the spending deal, which could be released by Sunday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, was open to the idea of including Mr. Comer’s measure in the package, and in response to a question from The Times at his weekly press conference, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, said that the measure was still part of “intensifying” negotiations among congressional leaders.

“It is a provision I support and that I proudly voted for,” he said.

There is still a slim opportunity for Mr. Comer’s measure to get a vote in the upper chamber. The bill moved through the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee in November, which set a deadline of Dec. 28 for a vote.

The Washington Times reached out to Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, on whether he intended to bring the bill to the floor or attach it to a stopgap.

It also faces resistance from Maryland’s Democratic senators, Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin. Mr. Van Hollen told The Times that he wasn’t opposed to the land transfer in the bill, but was more concerned about the fate of Northwest Stadium if the Commanders leave.

“We do want to get assurances from the Commanders that, should they decide to move the stadium to D.C., they will redevelop the existing site in a way that benefits the community,” he said.

There were also reportedly negotiations to transfer one of D.C.’s Air National Guard squadrons to Maryland as a sweetener to make up for possibly losing the Commanders, which Mr. Van Hollen threw cold water on. He said that was a “separate discussion” that remains a priority for Maryland lawmakers.

Mr. Comer pitched the measure as an economic boon for the District and questioned why lawmakers wouldn’t want to support it.

“It’s frustrating for me, because we talk about, we complain about, all the problems in Washington, D.C., and as a Republican, you know, how do you solve poverty? How do you lower crime? We don’t believe it’s through more government spending and more government programs,” Mr. Comer said.

“We believe it’s through private investment and creating new opportunities. and that’s what this bill does,” he said.