Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 3/27/19

Every Republican on the House Agriculture Committee signed a letter that will be sent today to House appropriators, defending Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue's proposal to relocate the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture outside of Washington, D.C.

Tune in: The House Appropriations Agriculture-FDA Subcommittee holds a hearing at 11 a.m. on the controversial topic, and there's likely to be a lively debate. Democrats have criticized Perdue's proposal, and non-binding language was included in the fiscal 2019 appropriations bill that directs USDA to provide further cost-benefit analysis before moving ahead.
MA got an early look at a draft of the letter from House Ag Republicans, which echoes some of Perdue's main arguments in favor of the relocation plans.

"We believe relocating ERS and NIFA would build upon USDA's capacity and improve the agency's ability to recruit top talent from universities across the nation while being closer to rural America and reducing taxpayer expenditures," the GOP members wrote.
It's a notable show of support, as Republicans haven't widely backed the administration on this effort. The letter asks Subcommittee Chairman Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) and ranking member Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) not to include restrictions on the USDA plans in a future Agriculture-FDA spending bill.