Republican Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Marshall Blackburn of Tennessee have introduced an ambitious bill that would relocate multiple federal agencies from of the Washington, D.C. area and move them to economically distressed areas throughout the country. The purpose for the relocation is to boost local economies across the country while also removing them from “the D.C. bubble”
The Helping Infrastructure Restore the Economy Act, or “HIRE Act” would see agencies like the Department of the interior move right here to New Mexico. Other agencies would be relocated away from the Capitol as well with proposals such as the Department of Transportation to Michigan, Commerce to Pennsylvania, Veterans Affairs to South Carolina, Energy to Kentucky, Labor to West Virginia and Housing and Urban Development to Ohio to name a few.
Moving these agencies would prove to be cheaper in the long term as leases are typically lower in western states compared to the nations capital. A relocation like the Interior Dept would also see the agencies working closer with the land and resources they manage since 99 percent of the land the agency is responsible for is located west of the Mississippi River. Read more HERE.