Sponsor
Claudia Tenney
Representative · R-NY
Representative · R-NY
The bill aims to identify opportunities to move federal jobs and functions outside D.C. to lower-cost or better-suited locations—potentially creating local jobs and savings—while risking employee disruption, added taxpayer relocation costs, strain on smaller communities, and degradation of mission coordination.
Local governments and communities outside Washington, D.C.: could gain jobs and increased economic activity if agencies are recommended to relocate, boosting local employment and tax receipts.
Federal employees who live in lower-cost areas: could see higher real take-home pay and lower living expenses if agencies move to regions with below-average costs.
Taxpayers: could experience long-run reductions in operating costs if agencies are relocated to lower-cost locations and infrastructure leads to more efficient operations.
Federal employees whose workplaces are moved: could face displacement, longer commutes, or the need to relocate, disrupting households, careers, and family arrangements.
National security and mission-critical coordination: could be weakened if decisions prioritize cost or local industry presence over proximity to other federal entities and D.C.-based partners.
Taxpayers: could incur substantial short- and medium-term costs for moving agencies, building or leasing facilities, and transition expenses if relocations proceed.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal commission to study relocating non-security federal agencies out of the D.C. area and report recommendations to Congress within one year.
Official title: To establish a commission to study the relocation of certain agencies outside of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Claudia Tenney · Last progress January 3, 2025
Creates a 16-member federal commission to study moving non-security federal agencies out of the Washington, D.C. metro area and to deliver recommendations to Congress within one year. The commission must evaluate financial efficiency, local costs, infrastructure, available private land, local industry partners, and recent telework patterns of agency workforces. The commission is composed of high-level executive branch officials (including agency heads and directors). It does not itself relocate agencies or appropriate funds; it produces a report with factors and recommendations for future action.