On the recordJune 25, 2019
I can tell my colleagues with great confidence that USDA's proposal to move the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) outside the National Capital Region is a bad idea. We held a hearing on the issue last March, at which four former senior USDA officials with 70 years of combined experience at the two agencies, from both parties, expressed their deep opposition to this proposal. Numerous stakeholders have expressed strong opposition, including the National Farmers Union, the Association of American Veterinary Colleges and nearly 1700 other organizations, university officials, and individuals from 47 states. We have not received a single letter in support of this proposal. USDA violated the Appropriations Committee's statutorily-required 30- day waiting period for such proposals when it took action to implement the proposal six days after notifying the Committee. It failed utterly to comply with the requirements of the conferees in the 2019 omnibus appropriations report to submit all cost benefits for the move and a detailed analysis of any research benefits of a relocation when it submitted the 2020 budget. USDA has also refused numerous requests from members of the House and Senate that it provide the original cost-benefit analysis developed before the proposal was announced. It finally gave us a so-called ``cost-benefit analysis'' after the final site was selected.…
