Another Batch of Former USDA Officials Decry Proposed ERS Move

The list of those opposed to the plan announced by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to move the Economic Research Service (ERS) out of Washington, DC, continues to grow.The latest to add their voices to the chorus are some 56 former USDA and statistical agency officials in a letter to House and Senate appropriators.The bipartisan group covers officials that served in various roles at USDA and other agencies going back to the 1960s. In the letter, the officials argue that the plan threatens the "quality and relevance" of the agency's research and reports.The American Statistical Association noted the USDA’s numbers on ERS were inflated by including summer interns, who all leave after their internships.The move, the letter said, threatens to prevent the agency from retaining staff expertise, to thwart continuing collaboration, will prevent the agency from maintaining the visibility with lawmakers that it now enjoys and risks the independence and credibility of the agency."ERS is ranked as number three in the world of institutions in the field of agricultural economics, a reflection of our leadership in economic research," the letter stated. "This proposal puts a world-renowned research agency at risk and could set back the federal statistical system at a time when the United States should be leading the world in innovation.