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Congressman moves to block ERS & NIFA move with restrictive spending bill

A Congressman wants to block the relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture by restricting USDA’s spending.

House Appropriations Ag Subcommittee Chair Sanford Bishop of Georgia, a Democrat, has introduced a spending bill that would fund the ERS and NIFA, but only if they remain in Washington D.C. 

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue has proposed moving the agencies and is expected to select a site soon. 

The spending bill includes salaries and expenses for several USDA agencies including the Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, Rural Development, and the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund. 

Bishop has been critical of the ERS and NIFA relocation, calling it, “a solution in search of a problem.”