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1 1 (May 01, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdabs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ,...........s ,e ' c Se, May 1, 2020 Relocation of the USDA Research Agencies: NIFA and ERS In October 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) relocated most staff positions at two of its research agencies-the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Economic Research Service (ERS)-from their long-term location in Washington, DC, to Kansas City, MO. About 75% of affected employees declined to relocate and left the agencies. While ERS and NIFA have prioritized hiring new staff, some agency activities have been reduced or delayed. The USDA budget request for FY2021 proposes an ERS staff level that is 41% lower than in FY2018-before the relocation. Agen~cy Bak.ckrc,-un d NIFA is USDA's principal extramural research agency (awarding grants to non-federal entities). It administers approximately $1.5 billion in federal funding annually. NIFA supports research, education, and extension projects conducted in partnership with land-grant colleges and universities, other institutions and organizations, and individuals. NIFA awards include capacity (formula-based) and competitive grants. ERS is a USDA intramural research agency (employing federal researchers). It has an annual budget of about $85 million. ERS conducts economic and statistical analyses on topics of interest to Congress, agricultural producers, and stakeholders. Topics include agricultural commodities, trade, marketing, food price forecasting, farm and rural income, food safety, and nutrition. Rd,1~ct§cm,,akcd Re~algn montr raosa',, In August 2018, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the intention to relocate ERS and NIFA from Washington, DC, to a location outside of the Washington, DC, area. Among the stated reasons were (1) improving USDA's ability to attract and retain qualified staff without the burden of a high cost of living, (2) placing USDA resources closer to stakeholders, and (3) lowering agency employment costs and rent. Concurrent with the relocation proposal, the Secretary proposed an organizational realignment: moving ERS from within the USDA Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area to the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE). REE consists of four research agencies. OCE is a staff office within the USDA Office of the Secretary. E-aernaM Response Criticism of USDA's relocation and realignment proposals began almost immediately. In November 2018, the American Statistical Association and 59 other organizations sent a letter to congressional appropriations committees requesting that Congress not provide funding for relocation. In March 2019, 99 academic, statistical, research, and producer groups sent a letter to congressional appropriations committees requesting that they prohibit USDA's use of funds to implement the proposed relocation and realignment and that they deny related reprogramming requests. These groups asserted that USDA's proposal would undermine the quality and breadth of the work these agencies support and perform and result in a major negative impact on U.S. farmers, ranchers, consumers, and researchers. The primary external supporters of the relocation were advocates for smaller government or those supporting regional interests in hosting the agencies. The Acting White House Chief of Staff referred to the relocations as a wonderful way to streamline government. Members of Congress expressed various views on USDA's proposals, as exemplified by letters in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry asked Secretary Perdue to provide data and plans for implementing the proposals. In 2019, some Members on the House Agriculture Committee supported relocation in a letter to the House agriculture appropriations subcommittee. In 2019, chairs of two subcommittees of the House Agriculture Committee opposed relocation in a letter to Secretary Perdue. Some Members of Congress attempted to block or delay USDA's proposals through legislation, such as the proposed Agriculture Research Integrity Act (115th Congress: H.R. 7330; 116th Congress: H.R. 1221 and S. 1637). Other legislative attempts included provisions in two years of annual appropriations bills. The explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6), supported an indefinite delay of ERS realignment and directed USDA to include in the FY2020 President's budget request cost estimates and an analysis of expected research benefits. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-94), did not address the proposals, and the relocation had already occurred. The report accompanying the earlier House bill (H.R. 3164) stated that USDA flatly refused numerous requests ... to provide the initial cost benefit analysis that preceded the decision to go ahead with the proposal. OlGan GAO Rekews In 2018, two Members of Congress requested that the USDA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) review USDA's legal and budget authority for the proposals and the sufficiency of a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) used to justify them. The August 5, 2019, OIG report found that USDA had legal authority. It also found that USDA had not complied with approval and reporting requirements specified in the FY2018 appropriations act (P.L. 115-141). USDA asserted that its actions complied with all applicable laws and that the provisions in P.L. 115-141 were Wy's C.,, N 1 10 LI

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