Washington D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a reorganization of the department that would shut down several facilities in the National Capital Region and relocate thousands of employees across the country. Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA-08), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD-03), Glenn Ivey (D-MD-4), Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Eugene Vindman (D-VA-07) and Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) released the following statement:

“This is a betrayal of American farmers, and an attack on the federal workforce that will severely damage services that the American people depend on. We are disappointed but not surprised that the Trump administration is continuing its attacks on the federal workforce, this time through wasting taxpayer dollars to relocate key USDA facilities. Let us be clear: these haphazard, unlawful relocations do not save taxpayer dollars or improve agency efficiency. We’ve seen this tactic before, and we know that it only results in brain drain, crushed morale, and cuts to vital programs American farmers depend on. We will continue to stand up for the dedicated federal workers who provide critical services to our nation as they navigate these relocations, mass firings, and the administration’s continued attacks on the civil service.”

During the first Trump administration, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) relocated both the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) from Washington, DC to Kansas City, MO. A GAO study of these relocations found that these relocations had significant impacts on both agencies’ staffing and productivity, including:

1. The loss of over a third of each agency’s permanent full-time staff following the announcement of the relocation in 2018.
2. A significant loss of experience, with staff with more than two years of experience declining from 83% of both agencies’ combined workforces in 2018 to 27% in 2021.
3. Declines in productivity, with ERS issuing fewer key reports and NIFA taking over a month longer to process and fund competitive grants in 2019.

GAO also found that USDA did not follow many leading practices for agency relocations, including a failure to consult with its employees at any point during the process and the exclusion of several key variables, including employee attrition, in its economic analysis to support the relocations. Both agencies have made positive improvements in these areas under the Biden administration, but the damage has already been done and many experienced, dedicated federal workers were essentially removed from their jobs.

In March 2025, the members introduced the COST of Relocations Act, led by Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), to fight back against President Trump’s relentless effort to relocate federal agencies and decimate their workforces. The legislation would require a cost-benefit analysis to be submitted to Congress in order to ensure that any attempt to move federal agencies is appropriately analyzed to guarantee it is in the best interest of the taxpayer and the agency’s mission.

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