Introduction of Protecting Federal Agencies and Employees From Political Interference Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to introduce the Protecting Federal Agencies and Employees from Political Interference Act, which would require an act of Congress before any federal agency headquarters may be moved out of the National Capital Region (NCR). My bill would require that the headquarters of any agency located in the NCR on the date of the introduction of this bill remain in the NCR absent subsequent legislation. This bill is cosponsored by Representatives Anthony Brown and Jamie Raskin.

The Trump administration has already begun moving agencies out of the NCR to the detriment of federal employees, their families and the work of these agencies. Employees who work in agency headquarters fulfill the indispensable role of keeping Congress and the president informed of agency activities. Congress cannot do its work to write laws and engage in vital oversight without the unvarnished facts that nonpartisan agencies provide. In fact, we have already seen the negative impacts of these relocation efforts. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced that it will be moving its headquarters staff to Grand Junction, Colorado, where agency staff will share office space with a Chevron corporate office, a state oil and gas association and an independent natural gas exploration company.

As for the Department of Agriculture's relocation efforts, two-thirds of impacted highly specialized employees will not relocate to Kansas City, retiring early or quitting instead. Preliminary reports suggest similarly low retention rates for BLM staffers asked to relocate west. While agency leadership touts these moves as cost effective, the work of the agency suffers when experienced personnel leave and relocation efforts appear to favor special interests.

Unless measures like the Protecting Federal Agencies and Employees from Political Interference Act are taken to stop agencies from relocating, the federal government will lose more employees and agencies will be unable to perform critical tasks, like assisting Congress in vital oversight.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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