Rollins didn’t brief Boozman on USDA reorganization, Klobuchar, Craig call for hearings
By Jerry Hagstrom, The Hagstrom Report
| Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., said Thursday he is disappointed that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins did not give him a heads-up about the sweeping reorganization of the Agriculture Department that she announced earlier in the day and said he would schedule a hearing on the matter. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, both called for hearings soon. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture plays a critical role in supporting America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities,” Boozman told The Hagstrom Report in an email. “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. I will be thoroughly examining the details of the proposal and look forward to learning more from Secretary Rollins and holding a hearing about the reorganization.” Klobuchar said in a statement, “A reorganization of this scale will impact USDA’s ability to provide critical services to Americans and undermine the agency’s trusted expertise that farmers and families count on.” I have serious doubts that the administration adequately considered the impact of this move on research and on services for farmers and rural Americans, particularly after the loss of over 15,000 employees in the past six months. The USDA must come before Congress to explain why it wants to adopt this plan, just as farmers have been hit with obscenely high tariffs, families have been walloped by SNAP cuts, and research grants have been frozen and reduced.” Agriculture has always been America’s pride and joy. This half-baked proposal — submitted with no consultation with leading agricultural senators — will set us back. We must have an immediate hearing before more damage is done.” Craig said, “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. “When the first Trump administration relocated USDA’s Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture outside of the Washington, D.C., area, about 75% of employees impacted declined the move, resulting in a massive brain drain and significant loss of productivity at both agencies. To expect different results for the rest of USDA is foolish and naive. Sadly, farmers will pay the price through a reduction in the quality and quantity of service they already receive from the department. “That the administration did not consult with Congress on a planned reorganization of this magnitude is unacceptable. I call on [House Agriculture Committee] Chairman [Glenn] Thompson [R-Pa.] to hold a hearing on this issue as soon as possible to get answers. We need to hear from affected stakeholders and know what data and analysis USDA decision makers used to plan this reorganization.” Craig noted that a 2023 study by the Government Accountability Office evaluating the relocation of the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture from Washington, D.C., to Kansas City, Mo., found: |
| Productivity declined at both agencies. ERS produced fewer reports. NIFA took longer to process grants. Employees at new locations were less experienced than at the prior location. Employee diversity at the two agencies declined precipitously. NIFA staff went from 47% African-American to 19%. |
Rollins said, “USDA will vacate and return to the General Services Administration the South Building, Braddock Place, and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, and revisit utilization and functions in the USDA Whitten Building, Yates Building and the National Agricultural Library. The George Washington Carver Center will also be utilized until space optimization activities are completed.”
Rollins explained that USDA “currently has approximately 4,600 employees within the National Capital Region. This region has one of the highest costs of living in the country, with a federal salary locality rate of 33.94%. In selecting its hub locations, USDA considered where existing concentrations of USDA employees are located and factored in the cost of living. Washington, D.C., will still hold functions for every mission area of USDA at the conclusion of this reorganization, but USDA expects no more than 2,000 employees will remain in the NCR.
Most federal employees are also entitled to locality pay, which is a geographic-based percentage rate that reflects pay levels for non-federal workers in certain geographic areas as determined by surveys conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Rollins said USDA will move positions to five hub locations and listed their locality rates:
Raleigh, N.C. (22.24%)
Kansas City, Mo. (18.97%)
Indianapolis, Ind. (18.15%)
Fort Collins, Colo. (30.52%)
Salt Lake City, Utah (17.06%)
The reorganization announcement received widespread news coverage, with frequent references to the problems that occurred when the first Trump administration moved the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Kansas City.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., applauded the plan to relocate some positions to Kansas City.
“There are no stronger champions for American farmers and ranchers than Secretary Rollins and President Trump,” Marshall said in a news release. “Today’s announcements build on President Trump’s efforts in his first administration to move those who work closest with our farmers and ranchers to our nation’s heartland. This is putting Farmer’s First [sic].”
