[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 170 (Monday, October 28, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6198-S6199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1184. Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Brown, 
and Mrs. Murray) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 948 proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill H.R. 3055, making 
appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, 
and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and 
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place in title VII of division B, 
     insert the following:
       Sec. 7__. (a) Not later than 30 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and before a lease is entered into for 
     any facilities of the Economic Research Service or the 
     National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the Kansas City 
     metropolitan area, the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide 
     a corrected cost-benefit analysis of the relocation of those 
     agencies to the Kansas City metropolitan area to--
       (1) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
     of the Senate;
       (2) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (3) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, 
     Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies of the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
       (4) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, 
     Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies of the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
       (b) The cost-benefit analysis described in subsection (a) 
     shall include--
       (1) an estimate of all costs associated with the 
     relocation, including costs related to the attrition and 
     resulting high vacancy rates associated with the relocation 
     and costs of staff travel to offices in Washington, DC;
       (2) an estimate of the expenses of renting space in 
     Washington, DC, as compared to a comparable amount of space 
     in the Kansas City metropolitan area, using General Services 
     Administration acceptable rental rates

[[Page S6199]]

     for Washington, DC, and the Kansas City metropolitan area, as 
     applicable;
       (3) an analysis of current Department of Agriculture space 
     in the National Capital Region, and whether that space could 
     be used for the Economic Research Service or the National 
     Institute of Food and Agriculture; and
       (4) an estimate of the costs resulting from terminating any 
     Economic Research Service or National Institute of Food and 
     Agriculture leases in Washington, DC, that are no longer 
     needed because of the relocation.
       (c) In calculating the costs described in subsection 
     (b)(1), the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide an 
     estimate of costs associated with--
       (1) replacing employees who did not relocate to the Kansas 
     City metropolitan area;
       (2) the loss of staff experience and expertise, including 
     providing the cumulative years of experience of employees who 
     did not accept the reassignment to the Kansas City 
     metropolitan area; and
       (3) the loss of the value of research that will be delayed 
     or not performed because of the staff shortages associated 
     with the relocation.
                                 ______