A day after asking for $25 million in moving money, the USDA said on Tuesday that at least 67 sites, predominantly in the Midwest and Plains, are being considered for the new homes of two research agencies now based in Washington. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue insists he has the power to move the agencies despite resistance from lawmakers.
Relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture will save money, aid in recruiting employees, and locate USDA staff closer to food and agriculture production, says Perdue. Critics predict disruption in the agency workforce and lower-quality work.
“The Trump administration’s reality TV-style contest to relocate USDA research agencies makes a mockery of food and agricultural research,” said the Union of Concerned Scientists. It said the USDA hatched the idea last summer with little or no consultation outside its ranks. “Academic, economic, and governmental institutions made only a handful of bids.”
Two of every three sites on the USDA’s list of semifinalists are in the Midwest or Plains. California, No. 1 in crop value, is out of the running. Some 136 “expressions of interest” last fall from 35 states were halved to at least 67 sites in 27 states for second-round consideration. “Multiple” sites in Indiana are being reviewed, according to the USDA, which lists each contending location and its backers from other states. A USDA official was not immediately available to identify the Indiana sites. In eastern Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, a site in Hanover Township is being sponsored by a “private citizen,” according to the USDA.
The ERS reviews a broad range of issues, from farm policy to food safety. NIFA awards $1 billion in research grants annually. The agencies have a combined workforce of 700, most of whom would be expected to relocate.
A month ago, Congress advised Perdue that it would be premature to proceed with the relocations because there was insufficient information and justification for them. The nonbinding language, in a report that accompanied a funding bill for the USDA and a handful of other federal departments, asked the agency for a cost estimate for the relocations and “a detailed analysis of any research benefits of their relocation.” On Monday, the USDA budget proposal for fiscal 2020, which starts on Oct. 1, requested $15.5 million to move the ERS and $9.5 million to move NIFA.
Although the Washington area has a high cost of living and lengthy commutes, the USDA says, it recruits graduates and employees of state universities, who are accustomed to lower-cost homes near to their offices, for the ERS and NIFA. Skeptics say turnover at the agencies is similar to rates for the USDA overall, so there is no problem in retaining workers.
The agencies could end up in higher-cost major urban areas despite the proposed move out of Washington. Nine sites are under consideration in Illinois — all in the Chicago suburbs. Three sites in the Minneapolis area are on the USDA’s list, along with three in the Kansas City area and four in Denver. Two locations in Maryland, literally next door to the District of Columbia, are on the list, too. But so are sites in smaller cities, such as Omaha, Nebraska; Madison, Wisconsin; Akron, Ohio; Birmingham, Alabama; College Station, Texas; and Rochester, New York. The site farthest from Washington may be Tempe, Arizona, with sponsors that include Arizona State University.
Four criteria are guiding the selection process, according to the USDA: local costs, quality of workforce, quality of life, and logistics, including travel time to Washington.