Norton Criticizes Ernst Bill Designed to Move Federal Agency Headquarters Out of National Capital Region

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) criticized a bill introduced by Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) that would prohibit new construction, major renovations, and new or renewed leases for the headquarters of federal agencies in the National Capital Region (NCR), with limited exceptions. The bill also would require the General Services Administration to establish a process to consider the relocation of headquarters. The bill is intended to move headquarters out of the NCR.

"The District of Columbia is the seat of the federal government, and Congress cannot do its job without the unvarnished facts and briefings that senior officials in the executive branch give the House and Senate almost daily," Norton said. "This requires the headquarters of agencies to be in or near D.C. We can have a discussion about ways to make government work better for the American people, but the Ernst bill is intended to score cheap political points by invoking the so-called ‘swamp.' I will continue to defeat such bills."

Norton has introduced a bill that would prohibit the relocation of any federal agency headquarters out of the NCR without congressional approval.

The Ernst bill is the fourth bill introduced this Congress to move federal agencies out of the NCR. This month, Congressman Bill Johnson (R-OH) introduced a bill that is substantially similar to the Ernst bill. Last year, Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH) introduced a bill that would require all federal agencies to move their headquarters out of the NCR and to only have 10 percent of their employees in the NCR by 2026. Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) introduced a bill that would prohibit the federal government from entering into a contract to construct a new federal building, including one built to be leased by the federal government, in D.C. for two years.

According to the Office of Personnel Management, 85 percent of federal employees work outside of the NCR.

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