Chairs Fudge, Plaskett Joint Statement on OIG Report on ERS/NIFA Relocation

WASHINGTON – Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11), Chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations and Rep. Stacey Plaskett (VI), Chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research issued the following joint statement in response to a report from the USDA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that the Administration has not followed proper procedure as it proceeds with a move of the Economic Research Service and National Institute for Food and Agriculture from Washington, D.C., to the Kansas City metropolitan area.

“The report from USDA’s Office of the Inspector General is just the latest in a long line of red flags surrounding this relocation.  We are alarmed that USDA continues to proceed with this move without consulting Congress or - according to the OIG - following the necessary legal requirements.  Couple that with White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney’s comments over the weekend on relocations as a mechanism for staff reduction, and this whole exercise is a naked and shameless attempt to force dedicated civil servants out of their jobs.”

###