A bipartisan coalition of former federal officials wrote a letter to top agricultural leaders in Congress opposing the planned move of USDA’s Economic Research Service from Washington, D.C. The move was announced by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in August. Perdue has said the move will save taxpayers money and allow USDA to better recruit from land-grant universities far from Washington.
The letter was sent to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House agriculture committees, as well as the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House agriculture appropriations subcommittees. Authors of the letter wrote that moving ERS out of D.C. “poses risks to the quality and relevance of the information ERS produces.” The main concerns presented in the letter are possible staff attrition, hindered collaboration with other agencies, diminished visibility with policymakers, and jeopardization of ERS as an independent and credible agency.
“ERS is ranked as number three in the world of institutions in the field of agricultural economics, a reflection of our leadership in economic research,” the letter reads. “This proposal puts a world-renowned research agency at risk and could set back the federal statistical system at a time when the United States should be leading the world in innovation.”
The signatories included several past ERS administrators, as well as past administrators of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, former USDA undersecretaries, and former commissioners and directors at the Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Census Bureau, among others. The officials cumulatively served in their roles from 1965 to 2018.