Like a genial bulldozer, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue relentlessly is pushing two scientific agencies out of Washington, with an announcement expected in mid-May of a new home in the heartland. Some mid-level USDA officials believe Kansas City, already the home of the department’s commodity procurement office, is the favored site.
The buzz at a USDA “data users” meeting last week was that St. Louis and the Chicago suburbs also were in the running, said one person who attended the meeting in Chicago. A USDA press aide was not immediately available to respond to questions about the relocation project, which Perdue unveiled last August and wants to complete this year.
Although Congress has cautioned that it is premature to move the Economic Research Service and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture without more supporting evidence, Perdue has moved steadily forward. On April 11, he told senators that he expected to narrow the hunt to a group of finalists by the end of the month. Aides repeatedly have said that a recommendation on the winning site could be given to Perdue in early May.
“My goal is to treat this as an economic development project,” said Perdue. The ERS, which provides analyses of food, natural resources, rural development and agricultural issues, including USDA programs, has around 330 employees and NIFA, which awards $1 billion a year in research funds, has roughly 360 staff workers. Perdue said negotiations with the finalists would allow USDA to develop a cost-benefit analysis. “If I can’t bring a deal to you that I think makes sense, I won’t expect you to approve it. I think we’ll find some real interest out there.”
At the same time Perdue wants to relocate the ERS, the administration would slash agency funding by 30 percent, cut its workforce in half and dramatically restrict its portfolio to developing “the statistics to measure economic concepts in a dynamic farm and agricultural sector.” Perdue also would take direct control of the ERS, now part of USDA’s research arm, by moving it into his executive office. To critics, the proposals add up to a concerted effort to weaken USDA research.
“The proposed reorganization of ERS and NIFA has only raised doubt as to whether USDA still values agriculture research,” wrote Mike Lavender of the Union of Concerned Scientists when the administration proposed the ERS cuts in March. “In fact, the press release announcing the reorganization cited three justifications for the proposal—and none of them include increasing or improving public investment in food and agriculture research.”
Early this year, Congress sent a clear, although non-binding, message to Perdue about moving ERS and NIFA. “Insufficient information and justification make moving forward on these proposals premature at this time,” said lawmakers in a report that accompanied a government funding bill. It asked for a cost estimate for the relocations and “a detailed analysis of any research benefits of their relocation.” Since then, House Democrats have said the USDA has not provided material to justify the move.
According to the USDA, relocation would save the government money on rent and salaries, make it easier to recruit employees and put its researchers closer to “stakeholders.”
An array of scientific groups and former USDA officials have spoken out against relocation. The audience for ERS’s work is Congress, policymakers in the executive branch and other federal research agencies, they say. Former ERS chief John Lee told a House subcommittee there is “no evidence it will be better” to shift people hundred of miles.
Lawmakers openly preened for moving the agencies into their home areas. “Please consider me an ally in that effort,” Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran told Perdue after declaring, “I believe government offices that are located closer to the people they serve are a positive thing.”
Separately, a farm lobbyist said Kansas City is the only place mentioned by mid-level USDA officials when they discuss the relocation. The chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Pat Roberts, is from Kansas, and Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt is a member of Senate Republican leadership.
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. In its budget proposal for fiscal 2020, the administration asked for $25 million to move the ERS and NIFA.