Maryland lawmakers vow to fight USDA plan to send away federal jobs
President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans Thursday to relocate federal agricultural research jobs located in the D.C. area to other parts of the country. Members of Maryland’s congressional delegation immediately pledged to fight the effort.
The Agricultural Research Service plans to close down the 6,500-acre Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, which has a long history in rural Prince George’s County.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a release that ARS “will begin decommissioning the center as part of a broader program aimed at relocating research programs to facilities across the country better aligned with regional agricultural needs.”
Overall, USDA is moving more than 2,500 of its D.C.-area employees to several regional hubs across the country.
“At USDA, we are putting farmers first,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who said the various moves would make research more efficient. “This move puts our research institutions outside of the beltway and closer to the land grant universities with talent pipelines who will lead the research and solve the problems facing the future of American agriculture.”
USDA said the changes will also affect the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Some positions will be moved to offices in Kansas City, Missouri.
Md. lawmakers charge moves are illegal
Rep. Glenn Ivey, who represents Maryland’s 4th District which includes BARC, said lawmakers are disappointed by the decision involving the Beltsville facility, which potentially impacts several hundred people.
He said the state’s congressional delegation believes the action is illegal and lawmakers are willing to go to court if necessary to challenge it.
“We don’t understand the logic behind the move,” he told WTOP. “Certainly, from a scientific standpoint, you’re disrupting decades of research that’s being done and can’t be replicated.”
Democratic lawmakers from Maryland issued a statement in support of the Beltsville center and its mission.
“Based in Prince George’s County for over a century, BARC has a proud history of supporting American farmers’ efforts to put food on our tables,” the statement said.
The lawmakers argued that “this facility must be kept open and upgraded so that it can continue its important work.”
They also took issue with Rollins’ statement that closing it will improve efficiency.
The lawmakers said “it will only end up wasting taxpayer dollars while jeopardizing the success of farmers across the country.”