Yesterday, news broke that Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) had introduced an amendment to a defense bill that would have forced the move of the District’s New Beginnings Youth Development Center — our 60-bed youth detention facility — from its current location in Laurel to a plot of land on the existing Walter Reed Army Medical Center which will be turned over to the city for re-development next year. Without the move, Cardin warned, he’d stop the city from getting a 62.5-acre parcel that will be re-developed into retail space, residences, offices, and even two charter schools.

Basically, Cardin wants the District’s kiddie jail moved out of Maryland — and if the city isn’t willing to do it, he’s happy to hold up what is expected to be a significant opportunity for development on some very valuable real estate. Predictably, D.C. officials like Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser aren’t particularly happy about the idea.

Cardin’s office told us yesterday that the senator simply wants the District’s imprisoned juveniles to be closer to their families, and that he’s been looking to move New Beginnings (and its infamous predecessor Oak Hill) out of Maryland for years. That much is true — Cardin proposed knocking down Oak Hill and building a replacement within city limits in 2005, and in 2007, he even went as far as putting a temporary hold on legislation granting Mayor Adrian Fenty control over the District’s public schools to make a point about keeping troubled city youth in Maryland. Cardin also argues that New Beginnings should be moved for the sake of securing the nearby National Security Agency, a somewhat comical justification.