Economic Research Service

For much of the federal workforce in 2019, what employees thought they knew about their pay, benefits, workplace flexibilities and even the location of their offices in some cases, were in flux.

Though the latest Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings show the resiliency of agencies in the face of a tumultuous 2019, they also point to some unsettling signs for organizations facing reorganization and relocation.

In today’s Federal Newscast, four out of five members of the National Treasury Employees Union say they’re starting to worry about the impact of a potential government shutdown on their finances.

No federal employee wants to leave D.C. None want to move here, either.

The Agriculture Department said short-term contractors, employees on detail from other agencies and reemployed annuitants are all part of its strategy to fill workforce gaps at the two research bureaus impacted by the USDA relocation.

In today’s Federal Newscast, Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) says the USDA relocation is delaying implementation of the Farm Bill.

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Virginia Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton are trying to block the Bureau of Land Management relocation with new legislation. They have introduced a bill that would require the BLM headquarters to remain in the national capital region.

Faced with widening workforce gaps, the Agriculture Department is asking some of the employees impacted by the USDA relocation to Kansas City to continue working longer in Washington, D.C. until a later date.

Shouldn’t the feds responsible for programs impacting crops, cattle and minerals be closer to the taxpayers who produce, manage and depend on them?

The two bureaus impacted by the Agriculture Department’s upcoming relocation to Kansas City are asking retirees to consider returning to their former agencies as part-time reemployed annuitants of the Economic Research Service or the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.