Trump administration plans to move USDA research divisions despite concerns

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

Science
Trump administration plans to move USDA research divisions despite concerns

By Ben Guarino
April 25 at 7:00 AM

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is moving forward with plans to relocate two influential scientific agencies out of downtown Washington, a cost-saving initiative that critics fear could provoke mass resignations among employees who perform critical agricultural research and produce statistics that shape farm policy.

In a meeting last week, Chris Hartley, acting administrator of the Agriculture Department's Economics Research Service, told researchers at that agency to expect reassignment letters in mid-May, according to two ERS employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Although the new location has yet to be announced, Hartley told researchers that they would have about 120 days to uproot their families and report for duty. Of 68 towns and cities in contention to host the agency, (1) College Park and Montgomery County, Md., are within a few dozen miles of its current offices. Many candidates, such as Denver, Des Moines and Kansas City, are hundreds or more than a thousand miles away. ... Staff at the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, which Perdue also selected for relocation, haven't received a date for the move, said a NIFA employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person wasn't authorized to discuss the move.

The relocation plan was unveiled in August, a prelude to the broad restructuring of the USDA workforce that Perdue announced this month, dubbed "OneNeighborhood." Among other provisions, it seeks to consolidate USDA employees, moving them out of rented space across the capital region and into two department-owned buildings in the D.C. area that are undergoing renovations. ... NIFA rents expensive real estate on the D.C. waterfront. ERS leases offices in the nearby Patriots Plaza. Under the OneNeighborhood plan, some NIFA and ERS employees would move into renovated D.C. offices, according to an April 19 memo obtained by The Washington Post. But the majority of employees at both agencies will be ordered to relocate to a yet-to-be-named site, which Perdue has said would bring them closer to farmers.
....

Ben Guarino is a reporter for The Washington Post's Science section. He joined The Post in 2016. Follow https://twitter.com/bbguari

(1) https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2019/03/12/secretary-perdue-announces-middle-list-ers-and-nifa-relocation

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/04/25/trump-administration-plans-move-usda-research-divisions-despite-concerns/

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Trump administration plans to move USDA research divisions despite concerns

Link to tweet

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Previously at DU, Fri Apr 19, 2019, 08:28 PM:

USDA orders scientists to say published research is 'preliminary'

https://www.democraticunderground.com/122863601

[pangaia]

1. I hope somebody is keeping a list- spreadsheet, or something,

on all the shit we will have to fix.

[cstanleytech]

2. Moving them a bit out to save money is not a horrible idea however rushing it is stupid as hell.

Instead it should be a gradual transition that does not start until 3 years from now so as to give people time to prepare.

[elleng]

3. Many candidates, such as Denver, Des Moines and Kansas City, are hundreds

or more than a thousand miles away.

[not fooled]

4. My suspicion

they want as many employees as possible to refuse to move and take early retirement or resign. The real goal is reducing the workforce and, ultimately, destruction of most of the USDA. All so that the funds can be reassigned to tax cuts and slashing the Federal budget.

Remember that the 666kook666 brothers and their acolytes are in effect running the government and destroying most Federal agencies is their aim. The fact that society is much more complex and interconnected nowadays, requiring a strong Federal presence to ensure a functioning country--in contrast to their "libertarian" fantasy of returning to the unregulated pioneer days--doesn't occur to these numbnuts.

[ancianita]

5. Exactly.

[cstanleytech]

6. That very well could be the reason for the short notice.

[jmowreader]

9. I don't see "destroying the USDA" as their goal

I do see “move the agencies to the middle of Kansas so all the professionals working there will resign and we can refill them with Trump cronies” as their real goal.

They do realize it’s going to cost about $5 billion to move the agencies, and that’s fine too...they can take the funds from other places in government like Social Security and Medicare...which helps them considerably in their quest to make all American families like the one on The Waltons TV show. (Neglecting, of course, that as a businessman John Walton was one of the richest people on the Mountain...)

[benld74]

7. Perdue is an effing fool,

NOT knowing what the eff is going on and pretending he has all the answers
I'm a USDA 30+yr grunt
1st off - he un-consolidated the various offices IT spent years/$$$ on infrastructure creating. Wanting to separate office for better coverage.
2nd- he rolls back telework to pre-2008. Why. He looked for someone on a site visit, knowing full well the individual teleworked. NOW 1 day per pay period.
3rd - bIgest claim to fame? demanding ALL employees have the [e-mail] email address. THIS was in the pipeline for the last 4 years,. Someone told him it was being done so he DEMANDED it. JUST LIKE DEAR LEADER

[not fooled]

8. Perdue is a tool

his job is to put a smiley face on the surface while working to undermine and destroy USDA, and to keep the troops from figuring out the agenda and rioting as a consequence.

Just another trumpster brought in to destroy the agency they supposedly lead.

red don of course neither knows or cares--he has outsourced running the country to the 666kook666 brothers and their ilk.