The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF THE PROTECTING FEDERAL AGENCIES AND EMPLOYEES FROM
POLITICAL INTERFERENCE ACT
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HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
of the district of columbia
in the house of representatives
Thursday, February 3, 2022
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to introduce the Protecting Federal Agencies and Employees from Political Interference Act, which would require an act of Congress before the headquarters for any federal entity located in the National Capital Region (NCR) on today's date may be moved out of the NCR. This bill is cosponsored by Representatives Anthony Brown, Gwen Moore, Jamie Raskin and David Trone.
The Trump administration moved the headquarters of agencies out of the NCR to the detriment of employees, their families and the work of these agencies. Employees who work in agency headquarters fulfill the indispensable role of keeping Congress and the president informed of agency activities. Congress cannot do its work to write laws and engage in vital oversight without the unvarnished facts that federal agencies provide. Two years after the Department of Agriculture (USDA) relocated the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Kansas City, they are operating with roughly 30% fewer employees, with former USDA Director of Communications Matt Herrick admitting that these agencies had ``lost some of the nation's best economists and agricultural scientists.''
Furthermore, nearly 300 employees retired or quit after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) moved its headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado. The Biden administration's return of BLM headquarters to our nation's capital is greatly appreciated and will go a long way to restore the valuable expertise that has been lost.
While I do not expect the Biden administration to move agencies out of the NCR, this bill would protect against irrational decisions of future presidents. Unless measures like this bill are taken to stop agencies from relocating, the federal government will lose more employees and agencies will be unable to perform critical tasks, including assisting Congress in vital oversight.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 22
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