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Some of the buildings at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, which would close as part of at USDA plan to ship thousands of workers to sites across the country. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Democrats in Maryland’s congressional delegation are pushing back against the Trump administration’s recent decision to shutter a Prince George’s agricultural research facility, arguing that the closure would not only hurt American farmers and agricultural research, but could be illegal.

A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture memo announced that the agency is undergoing a reorganization to “achieve improved effectiveness and accountability, enhanced services, reduced bureaucracy and cost savings for the American people.”

Part of that plan calls for closing the 6,500-acre Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Prince George’s County, which would be “deeply harmful to American farmers and a waste of taxpayer dollars,” according to a letter submitted by nine of Maryland’s 10 members of Congress, as part of the 30-day public comment period on the proposal.

Both senators and seven of the states’ eight House members signed the letter urging the USDA to keep the center open. Only Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st), the sole Republican in the delegation, did not sign the letter, which was submitted last week.

“We also have significant concerns about the lack of transparency and the legality of USDA’s proposed plan,” the letter said. “We urge you to keep BARC open and to provide a detailed accounting of the full impact of the proposed reorganization plan.”

The reorganization was outlined by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in a July 24 memo that said several USDA agencies in and around Washington, D.C., would be moved to other parts of the country to be “located closer to the people it serves while achieving savings to the American taxpayer.”

Because of Washington’s cost of living, the 4,600 USDA workers here get higher pay than they would i other cities. The plan calls for moving all but 2,000 of those workers to one of five regional hubs to reduce salary costs, and to close the Beltsville center “over multiple years to avoid disruption of critical USDA research activities.”

But the Maryland lawmakers say moving the BARC would not actually yield savings the department claims. The cost of living in Prince George’s is “estimated at $121,972 per year for a two-parent, two-child family,” significantly lower than in the District, the letter said.

“The new hubs you propose are in counties that have costs of living that range from $124,856 in Larimer County, CO (Fort Collins) to $101,965 per year in Marion County, IN (Indianapolis),” it said. “The cost of living in Prince George’s County clearly falls within the cost-of-living range of the proposed hub locations.”

But that’s just one of several reasons cited by the delegation, which also said that closing the Beltsville site requires congressional approval. Movinig forward without that approval, or moving personnel from one office to another without authorizing legislation, is prohibited by law, they said.

Meanwhile, the move would “waste” some $174 million in recent upgrades and repairs to the Beltsville facility, lawmakers said.

“Abandoning a facility right after USDA has made such significant upgrades to it is illogical and wasteful,” the letter says. “As one of the world’s largest agricultural research complexes, relocating personnel, as well as all the lab and research equipment, will undoubtedly be a major expense.”

Besides, the location in Prince George’s has benefits that “cannot be replicated elsewhere.”

“Located close to freshwater and saltwater, mountains and coastal lowlands, and situated within the fertile Piedmont Plateau, BARC is within reach of diverse landscapes and a range of climatic conditions,” the letter says. “This geography makes it an ideal location for an agriculture research station and its proximity to the nation’s capital allows BARC to take advantage of several key efficiencies.”

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The letter specifically notes the BARC’s “regionally-tailored” research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Eliminating BARC would “eliminate the research hub serving the entire Northeast Region – from Virginia to Maine.”

The potential loss of BARC is just the latest in a string of federal announcements that have been bad news for Prince George’s County this year.

In January, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing announced that it was canceling plans to move its printing operations from its current plant in Washington to a new facility planned for Beltsville, a move that would have brought about 1,400 jobs to the county. And in July, the FBI reversed more than a decade of study and planning and said it would not be building its new headquarters in Greenbelt but would remain downtown in the Ronald Reagan Building.

County, state and federal officials have vowed to fight for the FBI building, saying Prince George’s County is the best location. The same is true for agricultural research center, they said.

“BARC’s excellence in agricultural research is of enormous value to the nation, and so we urge you not to close this critical facility,” the letter says. “We also urge USDA to ensure full transparency in any potential reorganization and to follow the letter of the law.”