WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and U.S. Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) held a press conference to announce the reintroduction of the Conducting Oversight to Secure Transparency (COST) of Relocations Act, legislation to require any federal agency preparing to relocate a significant portion of their workforce to conduct and release to the public a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the proposed move before it is carried out. The lawmakers have reintroduced this legislation following a Trump Administration directive to all federal agency heads requesting proposals by mid-April for the potential relocation of agency bureaus and offices. The COST of Relocations Act would put in place necessary accountability measures to protect against politically motivated attempts to relocate federal agencies that could cripple their ability to effectively carry out their missions and force federal employees out of their jobs.
This legislation was first introduced in 2020 and updated in 2023 after a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the Trump administration’s relocation of two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research agencies in 2019 led to a decline in workforce size and productivity. During the 2019 relocation of the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) from Washington, D.C., to the Kansas City region, the Trump administration refused to publicly release a full third-party cost-benefit analysis, obscuring the many detrimental impacts to the workforce and mission of the agencies which were revealed through the GAO report.
“Across government, federal agencies and the civil servants who power them provide essential services for Americans across the country. Abruptly uprooting those agencies for political reasons not only endangers their critical missions, it’s also a waste of taxpayer dollars. This bill ensures that big decisions like these are made thoughtfully and driven by the best interests of the American people and their tax dollars,” said Senator Van Hollen, who sits on the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees funding for federal government real estate.
“We must stop the Trump administration’s politically motivated attempts to waste taxpayer dollars by unnecessarily moving federal agencies,” said Congressman Subramanyam. “Our bill ensures that before any agency is moved, we can protect the American people by doing a thorough analysis based on logic, the best interest of taxpayers, and the agency’s mission. These decisions should be based on what’s best for the American people, not political retribution.”
The legislation has been endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and the Partnership for Public Service.
The legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and in the House by Representatives Don Beyer (D-Va.-08), André Carson (D-Ind.-07), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.-11), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.-03), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.-03), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.-42), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.-05), Glen Ivey (D-Md.-04), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.-08), April McClain Delaney (D-Md.-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08), Bobby Scott (D-Va.-03), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.-12), Eugene Vindman (D-Va.-07).
“Relocating federal agencies would disrupt the lives of thousands of employees and impact the people they serve. As the Trump administration continues their attempts to dismantle this workforce, this legislation would ensure that any attempts to move or relocate federal agencies would be in the best interest of the American people, not due to some political agenda,” said Senator Warner.
“The forcible relocation of federal workers would upend their lives, uproot families, and jeopardize the quality of the civil service’s work to administer critical programs and protect our national security,” said Senator Kaine. “Amid the Trump Administration’s attacks on the federal workforce, this bill is critical to ensuring any proposal to move a federal agency is based on the best interests of American taxpayers and doesn’t threaten the agency’s ability to carry out its important work.”
“Trump’s attempt and continued threat to move federal agencies out of Maryland, which will upend the lives of countless more civil servants, is just another step in his ongoing witch hunt. Our COST Relocation Act will require any agency looking to relocate more than 100 employees to conduct a cost-benefit analysis. If Republicans take government efficiency seriously, they’ll join us on this bill,” said Senator Alsobrooks.
“The Trump Administration’s plan to relocate tens of thousands of federal workers outside the capital region is part of their plan to force out federal workers and dismantle vital services for the American people,” Congressman Hoyer said. “Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Russell Vought try to justify these relocations in the name of ‘government efficiency.’ This bill makes them put their money where their mouth is, requiring them to prove how moving these workers will lower costs for the American taxpayer before taking action. Everyone who genuinely wants to improve government efficiency and reduce waste ought to support this legislation.”
“President Trump and Elon Musk are using their chainsaw not just on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights but on the government itself,” said Congressman Raskin. “The White House’s shocking project to forcibly move federal agencies hundreds or thousands of miles from the National Capital Region is designed to disable and dismantle federal agencies and federal functions. I’m proud to join Senator Van Hollen and Congressman Subramanyam in standing up for the federal departments and workers who will be hit first by this wrecking crew. If we don’t stop them now, they’ll put the White House in Mar-a-Lago and the CIA in the Kremlin to be closer to their home office.”
“Nonpartisan analysis firmly establishes that relocating agencies across the country makes these agencies less productive and hurts their essential work for the American people. Our bill would inject some professionalism, logic, and basic common sense into a process that is currently driven entirely by Donald Trump’s petty vindictiveness,” said Congressman Beyer.
“Relocating agencies is just another careless attack on federal workers. Relocations uproot thousands of families and result in the loss of experienced, skilled, and nonpartisan federal workers with strong ties to their local communities,” said Congressman Ivey. “This reckless administration needs common-sense guardrails in place to ensure our federal government works effectively and efficiently in the best interest of ALL Americans, not just MAGA Republicans,” he continued.
Under the legislation, federal agencies would be required to conduct a cost-benefit analysis in accordance with federal guidelines for “best practices” for undertaking such a review. These best practices would require an analysis of both quantitative data, such as the costs of real estate and staffing, and qualitative metrics necessary to the success of federal agencies, such as employee attrition, loss of institutional knowledge, and short- and long-term impacts on the ability of the agency to carry out its mission. The results of this analysis would be submitted to the agency’s Inspector General for review and then made available to the public.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
“AFGE applauds Representative Subramanyam and Senator Van Hollen for reintroducing the Conducting Oversight to Secure Transparency (COST) of Relocations Act. The decision to relocate a federal agency shouldn’t be taken lightly and shouldn’t be undertaken without a thorough analysis to make sure that it is in the best interest of the agency, its employees, and the public they serve. AFGE strongly supports the COST of Relocations Act because it will prevent agencies from being relocated to cut staff, hamstring government operations, or retaliate against agencies for politically inconvenient work.” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley.
“The Project On Government Oversight is pleased to endorse the COST of Relocations Act. This commonsense bill simply requires agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis prior to relocating substantive numbers of agency employees. This will help ensure that relocations are fiscally prudent and do not cause major disruptions in agencies’ ability to carry out their core missions and deliver critical services to the public,” said Joe Spielberger, Policy Counsel at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). “We appreciate Congressman Subramanyam and Senator Van Hollen for introducing this legislation, and thank former Congresswoman Wexton for her leadership on this issue.”
“Federal agencies must be able to fulfill their legislative mission without political or partisan interference,” said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “Relocating federal agencies without consideration of the cost or effect on stakeholders can upend their vital work and result in real world harm to the American people. The COST of Relocations Act takes an important step in protecting agencies from politicization by ensuring that any relocation effort requires both a cost-benefit analysis and independent oversight from the agency’s inspector general.”
“Consequential decisions like relocating federal agencies should be informed by facts so that government can best deliver on its mission to serve the public and use taxpayer resources wisely,” said Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. “The COST of Relocations Act will help ensure that agencies, the administration and Congress have the information needed to make strategic decisions about how—and where—the work of government gets done.”
