Federal lawmakers continued to press for more data regarding the feasibility of moving the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) agencies of the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) outside the Washington, D.C., area. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a plan in August of 2018 to align the ERS with the Office of the Chief Economist and relocate ERS and NIFA employees outside the National Capital Region.
“It’s been our goal to make USDA the most effective, efficient, and customer-focused department in the entire federal government,” Perdue said. “In our administration, we have looked critically at the way we do business, with the ultimate goal of ensuring the best service possible for our customers and for the taxpayers of the United States. In some cases, this has meant realigning some of our offices and functions, or even relocating them, in order to make more logical sense or provide more streamlined and efficient services.” Read more