Norton Introduces Bill to Prohibit Moving Federal Agency Headquarters Out of National Capital Region

Statement

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today reintroduced her Protecting Federal Agencies and Employees from Political Interference Act, which would require an act of Congress before the headquarters for any federal entity located in the National Capital Region (NCR) may be moved out of the NCR. The bill is cosponsored by Reps. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), David Trone (D-MD), and Anthony Brown (D-MD).

While Norton does not expect President Biden to move the headquarters of any federal entity out of the NCR, and in fact, applauded his decision to move the Bureau of Land Management headquarters back to the District of Columbia, President Trump moved the headquarters of multiple federal entities out of the NCR, and a future president could do so again.

"The unprecedented moves by the Trump administration were not about saving taxpayer money and had their origins in inaccurate political talking points," Norton said. "We can have a discussion on ways to make government work better, but politicians throwing cheap shots at the nation's capital and the region, where thousands of expert public servants live and work, should not be part of that discussion."

Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH) has introduced the Drain the Swamp Act of 2021, which would require all executive branch agencies to move their headquarters out of the D.C. area and to only have 10 percent of their employees in the D.C. area by 2026.

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