The US Division of Agriculture introduced Thursday it is going to relocate a lot of its workers within the Washington, D.C., space to 5 regional hubs and vacate a number of buildings within the nation’s capital, together with its flagship analysis heart.
Not more than 2,000 USDA staff will stay within the Washington space on the conclusion of the reorganization effort, the company mentioned in a information launch.
The remaining 2,600 folks will probably be relocated to hubs in Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas Metropolis, Missouri; Indianapolis; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake Metropolis.
The USDA additionally mentioned it is going to vacate a number of places within the Washington space, together with its flagship analysis heart, the Beltsville Agricultural Analysis Middle in Maryland, and one among its headquarters buildings on the Nationwide Mall.
“American agriculture feeds, clothes and fuels this nation and the world, and it is long past time the department better serve the great and patriotic farmers, ranchers and producers we are mandated to support,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins mentioned in an announcement. “President Trump was elected to make actual change in Washington, and we’re doing simply that by transferring our key providers outdoors the beltway and into nice American cities throughout the nation.
“We will do so through a transparent and commonsense process that preserves USDA’s critical health and public safety services the American public relies on,” she continued. “We will do right by the great American people who we serve and with respect to the thousands of hardworking USDA employees who so nobly serve their country.”
In a video to workers, Rollins mentioned the plan to relocate employees was made to deliver the company’s workers nearer to its “core constituents.”
The USDA’s plan is the most recent effort by the Trump administration to reorganize and downsize the federal workforce.
The company shouldn’t be making widespread cuts to its workers, though the relocation plan is a part of the USDA’s technique of decreasing its workforce, it mentioned within the launch.
It mentioned a lot of its discount was by way of voluntary retirements and the company’s Deferred Retirement Program.
Greater than 15,000 employees, about 15% of its whole workforce, voluntarily selected one of many two monetary incentive presents to resign.
The Senate Agriculture Committee’s chair, Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman; the rating member, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar; and the rating member on the Home Agriculture Committee, Minnesota Democrat Rep. Angie Craig, mentioned in statements they weren’t consulted on the plan and known as for hearings on the reorganization effort.
“The best way to serve our agriculture community is by working together, so it’s disappointing USDA didn’t share its plans in advance of this announcement,” Boozman mentioned.
Craig mentioned the “planned reorganization announced by the agriculture secretary without notice or input from Congress or key stakeholders and constituencies demonstrates that this administration failed to learn the lessons from previous similar efforts and is willfully risking the effectiveness of the agencies and programs that support America’s family farmers.”
The USDA additionally plans to scale back or shut some regional places of work, together with consolidating the Nationwide Agricultural Statistics Service, which publishes agricultural market knowledge, from twelve places of work to 5, in accordance with a memo from the company.
Moreover, the Forest Service will shut its 9 regional places of work over the following 12 months in a plan that “will take into consideration the ongoing fire season,” the memo famous.
The Agricultural Analysis Service’s workers have already struggled with its workload after the voluntary resignations, in accordance with worker Ethan Roberts.
“Many will not take the [relocation] offer, and we will lose even more administrative employees that are critical to the everyday functioning of the USDA and ARS,” he mentioned.
Reuters contributed to this report.
