Source:  POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 3/28/19

The department is racing to release a shortlist of potential new locations for the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture "in the coming days," USDA senior adviser Kristi Boswell said Wednesday. It's the next marker in Perdue's ambitious timeline for a relocation process that's drawn a mix of opinions from lawmakers, including plenty of blowback from both sides, your host reports.

'Early May' target: Boswell said at a House Appropriations Agriculture-FDA Subcommittee hearing that the shortlist reveal will precede site visits, final negotiations and ultimately a site recommendation "in early May."

A cost-benefit analysis of the final recommendation will be provided along with the site selection, she said.

Lawmakers have pressed USDA for additional data to justify moving the research agencies out of the D.C. area, which critics fear will disrupt operations and prompt major staff turnover. Democrats on the panel said Perdue hasn't provided analysis to back up assertions that relocating ERS and NIFA will save costs or boost staff retention rates.

By the numbers: Boswell laid out some notable figures during the hearing, including that ERS and NIFA are splitting the $340,000 bill for USDA retaining the firm Ernst & Young to run the site selection process.

Per Boswell, ERS would keep 76 jobs in Washington and relocate 253 positions, while NIFA would retain just 20 employees in D.C. and move 315 to the new site. Those numbers are based on currently appropriated positions. President Donald Trump's fiscal 2020 budget calls for slashing the full-time ERS workforce in half, from about 330 positions to 160.

GOP pushback: Republicans have been more supportive than Democrats of Perdue's relocation proposal, but many have also been critical of certain aspects. For example, Maryland Rep. Andy Harris complained the so-called middle list of possible locations includes two sites close to Washington — College Park and Montgomery County — but none in the more rural areas of his state.
— Harris also questioned if Ernst & Young was right for the job: "You're asking people from Washington and New York to judge the ability to move something to a rural area."