Maine 2nd District Democratic Congressman Jared Golden is sponsoring a bill to move federal agencies out of Washington D.C.
The measure would bar new construction, renovation, or lease renewal of agencies headquartered in the D.C. area which are not national security related.
It also establishes competitive bidding processes to move such agency headquarters out of D.C.
Golden’s bill aligns with newly elected President Donald Trump, who called for relocating as many as 100,000 government jobs to “new locations outside the Washington Swamp” earlier this month.
During Trump’s first term, Bureau of Land Management positions were shifted to Grand Junction, Colorado, while Department of Agriculture roles were sent to Kansas City, Missouri.
Golden is also aligning with two Republicans on the bill. It’s co-sponsored by Iowa 2nd District Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, while Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
Golden says most good paying federal agency jobs are located in the Washington D.C. metro, but deal with with research and government contracts did can be handled from other areas. He says those positions should be located closer to the communities they serve.
“No one knows better than fishermen what it takes to make a living on the water, or the threat that new regulations from far away can pose not only to their livelihoods but to their entire community or region,” Golden said. “That lived expertise about how we work and live can be found in every corner of America, but federal regulatory authority — and the good-paying jobs that come with it — reside largely in and around Washington, D.C.
“Redistributing federal agencies and jobs around the country would bring the government closer to the people, ensure regulators are embedded in the communities that thrive or struggle based on their rulings and bring good-paying jobs out of the beltway and into communities across the country.”





