A month ago, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced with little warning that he would move two USDA research agencies out of Washington, potentially relocating them hundreds of miles away. Now four House Democrats who oversee USDA spending have asked Perdue to justify the relocations, which could be complete by the end of 2019.
In a letter, the Democratic representatives, all members of the House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, asked for estimated costs and savings from the relocation, data on the anticipated loss of staff due to the move, and evidence that the USDA has had difficulty recruiting staff for the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which employ a combined 700 people. The first of three reasons cited by the USDA for moving the agencies was “significant turnover” in staff because of the high cost of living in the Washington area, and the reluctance of recruits, “many of whom come from land-grant universities,” to leave rural America.
“It worries us to hear reports that USDA’s reorganization announcement has jeopardized morale not only in the two affected agencies, but also across the department as employees wonder whether other agencies will also be relocated,” wrote Reps. Sanford Bishop, Rosa DeLauro, Chellie Pingree, and Mark Pocan.
The letter is one of the few challenges raised by lawmakers to Perdue’s ongoing reorganization of the USDA, which began in May 2017 with the creation of the post of undersecretary for trade. At the same time, Perdue eliminated the position of undersecretary for rural development; an assistant in his office is now in charge of rural economic development. The Senate voted as part of its farm bill to restore the undersecretary’s post — a “commonsense” provision that should be part of the final version of the farm bill, said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Democrat.
Along with relocating the ERS, Perdue made the agency part of his executive office, a step that raised suspicions that its work would become subject to political pressures. The agency is currently part of the USDA’s research wing, as is NIFA, which awards research grants.