A new report suggests Congress may consider additional oversight of the location change of two Department of Agriculture agencies.
The Congressional Research Service report out this month says, “Congress may consider exercising oversight of USDA implementation of the relocations and any benefits as anticipated by the Congressional Budget Office.”
Last year, USDA relocated most staff positions at two of its research agencies, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Economic Research Service to Kansas City, Missouri, from Washington, D.C.
The move was expected to save $300 million over 15 years, according to the CBA analysis.
The report states about 75 percent of affected employees declined to relocate and left the agencies.
The report says that NIFA grantees have experienced delays in receiving awarded funds, which are typically released one to two months after the start of the next fiscal year.
Further reports cite USDA internal memos suggest that ERS has delayed or discontinued numerous reports.
