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HR 202 · 119th CongressIn Committee
Commission to Relocate the Federal Bureaucracy Act
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor
Claudia Tenney
Introduced
January 3, 2025
Latest action
January 3, 2025
Legislative Progress
How far this bill has traveled through Congress
Introduced
Committee
Passed Chamber
Passed Both
President
Enacted
Introduced
Bill filed in chamber
Committee
Reviewed & reported
Passed Chamber
House or Senate vote
Passed Both
House & Senate agree
President
Sent to White House
Enacted
Signed into law
Latest Action
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Plain-Language Summary
AI GeneratedCurrently, most federal agencies maintain headquarters and significant operations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area—defined by this bill as the District of Columbia, parts of Maryland, and parts of Virginia. This geographic concentration has persisted for decades, with agencies clustered near Congress and the White House. The bill does not amend existing law governing agency locations but instead responds to the premise that relocating federal operations outside this region could reduce government costs and distribute federal employment more broadly across the country.
The bill establishes a Commission to Relocate the Federal Bureaucracy, composed of 16 senior officials including the Directors of the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management, the Comptroller General, and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs, plus the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner. The Commission must study which "covered agencies"—defined as non-security-related agencies as determined by the President—could relocate outside the Washington region and submit recommendations to Congress within one year of enactment.
The Commission's recommendations must weigh four factors: whether a potential relocation site has below-average cost of living, adequate infrastructure and available private land, existing industries related to the agency's mission that could serve as public and private partners, and whether the agency's workforce has recently participated in telework. The bill provides no dedicated funding, implementation timeline for actual relocations, or mechanism to compel agencies to move. The report serves as a study and recommendation document; Congress would need separate legislation to authorize and fund any actual agency relocations.
Key Provisions
- 1Establish a Commission to Relocate the Federal Bureaucracy composed of 16 federal officials to study moving non-security agencies out of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
- 2Require the Commission to submit a report to Congress within one year recommending which covered agencies should relocate based on cost of living, infrastructure availability, industry partnerships, and telework participation.
- 3Define covered agencies as all federal agencies except those designated as security-related by the President, and exclude the District of Columbia, Maryland counties, and Virginia counties and cities from potential relocation destinations.
- 4Direct the Commission to evaluate relocation sites based on financial efficiency, existing infrastructure and land availability, alignment with local industries, and workforce telework capacity.
★ Why this matters
The bill creates a formal study mechanism to examine whether federal agencies could operate more cost-effectively outside Washington, D.C. If implemented, agency relocations could reduce real estate and personnel costs in high-cost areas, though actual moves would require separate congressional action and funding. The study may influence future decisions about federal workplace structure and remote work policies.
● Who this affects
Federal employees in Washington, D.C. and surrounding Maryland and Virginia counties face potential job relocation if recommendations are adopted; employees in other regions could gain federal employment opportunities. State and local governments outside the D.C. region may compete to attract relocated agencies. The Office of Management and Budget, Office of Personnel Management, and individual federal agencies would implement any approved relocations. Private real estate markets in the D.C. region and potential relocation destinations could experience shifts in demand.
Bill Text
View on Congress.govShow / hide bill text preview
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 202
To establish a commission to study the relocation of certain agencies
outside of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2025
Ms. Tenney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
A BILL
To establish a commission to study the relocation of certain agencies
outside of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Commission to Relocate the Federal
Bureaucracy Act''.
SEC. 2. AGENCY RELOCATION COMMISSION.
(a) Definitions.--
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the
Commission established under subsection (b).
(3) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' means an
agency that is not a security-related agency, as determined by
the President.
(4) Telework.--The term ``telework'' has the meaning given
the term in section 6501 of title 5, United States Code.
(5) Washington, d.c. metropolitan area.--The term
``Washington, D.C. metropolitan area'' means--
(A) the District of Columbia;
(B) Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in the
State of Maryland; and
(C) Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William
Counties and the City of Alexandria in the Commonwealth
of Virginia.
(b) Establishment.--There is established a Commission to study the
relocation of covered agencies based in the Washington, D.C.
metropolitan area to other areas throughout the United States.
(c) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of--
(1) the Director of the White House Presidential Personnel
Office;
(2) the Director of the Office of Personnel Management;
(3) the Comptroller General of the United States;
(4) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(5) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(6) the Secretary of Commerce;
(7) the Secretary of Education;
(8) the Secretary of Energy;
(9) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(10) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(11) the Secretary of the Interior;
(12) the Secretary of Labor;
(13) the Secretary of Transportation;
…Party Positions
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Source: cosponsors
Cosponsor data and vote records sourced from Congress.gov. Reflects formal legislative actions only.