Proposed Relocation/Realignment of USDA’s ERS and NIFA

Proposed Relocation/Realignment of USDA’s ERS and NIFA

Updated August 13, 2019
Proposed Relocation/Realignment of USDA’s ERS and NIFA
Background
required by Section 717(a) of that act, nor had it complied
As part of the proposed reorganization of the U.S.
with the reporting deadline requirement in Section 753 of
Department of Agriculture (USDA), Secretary Perdue
the act. That same language was in the FY2019
announced in August 2018 the department’s intention to
appropriations bill and in the House-passed FY2020 bill.
relocate the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) outside
In response, USDA stated its disagreement with the OIG’s
the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. He also proposed
questioning its budget authorities regarding the relocation.
realigning ERS from the Office of the Undersecretary for
The Department asserted that its actions fully comply with
Research, Education, and Economics (REE) to the Office of
all applicable laws and that the budgetary provisions cited
the Chief Economist. Among the stated reasons for the
in the OIG report requiring committee approval are
agency relocations are (1) improving USDA’s ability to
unconstitutional. OIG, in response, noted that USDA’s
attract and retain qualified staff without the burden of the
position was not consistent with prior positions taken by the
high cost of living; (2) placing USDA resources closer to
Department and recommended that USDA seek the Office
the many agricultural stakeholders who live and work
of General Counsel’s opinion regarding compliance with
outside the Washington, DC, area; and (3) creating
the relevant appropriations provisions, including whether
departmental savings on high employment costs and rent.
there were any corresponding violations of the
Antideficiency Act, which prohibits agencies from
In a subsequent Federal Register notice, USDA invited
spending funds not appropriated.
interested parties to make proposals for siting the relocated
headquarters of ERS and NIFA. In October 2018, USDA
Economic Research Service
announced that it had received 136 expressions of interest
ERS was founded in 1961 as the successor agency of the
in 35 states. In early May, three sites were chosen for final
Bureau of Agricultural Economics, which was established
determination: the Purdue University area (Indiana), Kansas
in 1922. ERS conducts economic and statistical analyses on
City (Missouri), and Research Triangle (North Carolina).
agricultural commodities, trade and international
Two additional back-up sites were named: Madison,
agriculture, rural demography, agricultural marketing, food
Wisconsin, and St. Louis, Missouri. On June 13, Secretary
price forecasting, surveys of farm and crop production
Perdue announced that the Kansas City region would be the
practices, farm and rural labor and income analysis, food
new location for NIFA and ERS. A cost-benefit analysis of
safety and nutrition, natural resources, and the environment.
the relocation was also released with the announcement
More recently, ERS has developed geospatial online
USDA further announced that the department would not
mapping tools to integrate and display data and research
realign ERS with the Office of the Chief Economist but
results geographically.
retain the agency under the REE mission area.
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Current Status of the Proposed Relocation
A 2004 USDA task force report recommended the
With the June decision to relocate to the Kansas City
formation of a National Institute for Food and Agriculture.
region, current ERS and NIFA employees were given until
The task force recommended that such an institute should
July 15 to accept an offer to relocate or to separate from
service with the agencies. As of that date, 72 ERS
 support fundamental research addressing the frontiers of
employees and 73 NIFA employees agreed to the move,
knowledge while leading to practical results or further
and 250 (99 from ERS and 151 from NIFA) declined.
scientific discovery;
Seventy-six ERS employees and 21 NIFA employees will
remain in Washington, D.C.
 distribute research grants through a competitive, peer-
reviewed process and be solely a grant-awarding entity,
In response to a letter from Representative Steny Hoyer and
not one that conducts its own in-house research;
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton in late September 2018,
USDA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) began a
 enhance, not replace, existing USDA research;
review of the proposed relocation. The OIG report was
released on August 5, 2019, and found that USDA had legal
 receive oversight from committees of scientists and a
authority to realign ERS and relocate the agencies.
council of advisors;
However, OIG concluded that under the FY2018
Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-141), there
 achieve increasing annual appropriations over a five-
were certain limitations on USDA’s budget authorities to
year period until it received $1 billion per year; and
realign or relocate their offices. The OIG found that USDA
had not obtained Appropriations Committee approval, as
https://crsreports.congress.gov

Proposed Relocation/Realignment of USDA’s ERS and NIFA
 be located in Washington, DC, to be close to the other
to Secretary Perdue September 7, 2018, pointing out that
major federal science agencies.
the “agencies play a critical role in advancing agricultural
research and analysis on topics such as food and nutrition,
NIFA was formally established four years later in the 2008
food safety, global markets and trade, resources and
farm bill (Food Conservation and Energy Act, P.L. 110-
environment and the rural and agricultural economy.”
234) as the successor agency of the Cooperative State
Senators Roberts and Stabenow asked 12 detailed questions
Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES).
regarding the proposed relocation and realignment.
Currently, NIFA administers both formula and competitive
grant funds under the 1887 Hatch Act and the 1914 Smith-
On December 19, 2018, Representative Chellie Pingree
Lever Act and oversees a wide range of cooperative
introduced the Agriculture Research Integrity Act (115th
extension and education functions of the former CSREES.
Congress, H.R. 7330), which would have blocked the
proposed relocation. The bill would have also retained ERS,
External Response to the Proposed Relocation
NIFA, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and the
Criticism of the proposed ERS and NIFA relocations and
Agricultural Research Service within REE. No action was
realignment began almost immediately. The American
taken on the bill before closure of the 115th Congress.
Statistical Association joined with 59 other organizations in
Representative Pingree reintroduced the bill (H.R. 1221) in
sending a letter to House and Senate agriculture
the 116th Congress, and Senator Van Hollen introduced a
appropriations subcommittees on November 18, 2018,
companion bill in the Senate on May 23, 2019 (S. 1637).
requesting that “no funding be used for relocation beyond
that already provided for its relocation within the National
The explanatory statement accompanying the FY2019
Capital Region.” As stated in the letter, the signers’
appropriations bill contained language directing USDA to
“fundamental concern is that the proposed relocation and
“delay indefinitely” the proposal to reorganize ERS under
realignment will undermine the quality and breadth of the
the Office of the Chief Economist and to provide Congress
work these agencies support and perform—work that is
with a “detailed analysis” and cost estimates of the
vital to informing and supporting U.S. agriculture, food and
proposed relocation of both ERS and NIFA. The statement
rural economies.”
called for cost estimates and a “detailed analysis of any
research benefits” to be included in the Trump
A second letter opposing the relocation and signed by 99
Administration’s FY2020 budget request. Similar language
academic, statistical, research, and producer groups was
also appeared in the explanatory statement of the Senate
sent March 25, 2019, to the House and Senate
agriculture appropriations bill for FY2019. These cost
Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture, Rural
estimates were not included in the Administration’s
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
FY2020 budget request.
Agencies. The letter was also sent to the chair and ranking
members of the House and Senate Appropriation
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture
Committees. That letter requested that “no funding be used
includes no funding for the proposed relocation in its 2020
for relocation or reorganization of ERS and that no funding
appropriations bill (H.R. 3164). The bill’s accompanying
be used for the relocation of NIFA outside the National
report states that USDA “flatly refused numerous requests
Capital Region.” The letter requested that any
from this committee and other members of Congress to
reprogramming requests from USDA to continue
provide the initial cost benefit analysis that preceded the
implementing the relocation be denied.
decision to go ahead with the proposal.”
Congressional Response
With respect to realigning ERS under the Office of the
Members of the minority on the House Agriculture
Chief Economist, former USDA Undersecretaries for REE
Committee sent a letter on March 27, 2019, to the
and directors of ERS at a March 28 hearing before the
Subcommittee on Agriculture Appropriations supporting
Subcommittee on Appropriations pointed to the fact that, as
USDA’s relocation proposal, pointing out that key
one of 13 “principal statistical agencies” of the Federal
functions of USDA such as the Agricultural Research
Statistical System, ERS subscribes to the Statement of
Service and the National Agricultural Statistics Service are
Commitment to Scientific Integrity of the National
already located outside the Washington area. The letter’s
Research Council’s (NRC) Principles and Practices for a
signers stated their support for the relocation as a means “to
Federal Statistical Agency. Four principles are noted as
improve the agency’s ability to recruit top talent from
fundamental for a federal statistical agency: relevance to
universities across the nation while being closer to rural
policy issues, credibility among data users, trust among data
America and reducing taxpayer expenditures.” The letter
providers, and independence from political and other undue
noted the Secretary’s commitment that no ERS or NIFA
external influence. The federal statistical agencies may
employee would be involuntarily separated during the
conduct analyses, but they do not advocate policies or take
transition and that employees would be offered relocation
partisan positions.
assistance and receive the same base salary as before. Some
employees who agreed to move may be permitted to
Concern was expressed that a realignment of ERS under the
telework for a period past the September reporting date.
Office the Chief Economist and away from the Washington
region could raise questions about the independence and
Senators Pat Roberts and Debbie Stabenow—chair and
objectivity of future ERS analyses and might conflict with
ranking member, respectively, of the U.S. Senate
the NRC principles. The decision not to move forward with
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry—wrote
the realignment of ERS should reduce some of that concern.
https://crsreports.congress.gov

Proposed Relocation/Realignment of USDA’s ERS and NIFA

Tadlock Cowan, Analyst in Natural Resources and Rural
Development
IF11166

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11166 · VERSION 4 · UPDATED