Missouri Republican and arguably the most MAGA member of the Senate, Josh Hawley, introduced a bill on Wednesday that would move numerous federal agencies out of the District of Columbia, and disperse the offices throughout cities in the country. The bill was co-introduced by Republican Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and is officially known as the "Helping Infrastructure Restore the Economy (HIRE) Act."
"Every year Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars fund federal agencies that are mainly located in the D.C. bubble," Sen. Hawley said in a statement. "That’s a big part of the problem with Washington: they’re too removed from the rest of America. The HIRE Act will move policymakers directly into the communities they serve, creating thousands of jobs for local communities and saving taxpayers billions of dollars along the way."
Here's a list of what agencies could potentially be moved out of D.C.:
- Department of Agriculture -- Missouri
- Department of Commerce --Pennsylvania
- Department of Education --Tennessee
- Department of Energy -- Kentucky
- Health and Human Services --Indiana
- Housing and Urban Development -- Ohio
- Department of Interior -- New Mexico
- Department of Labor -- West Virginia
- Department of Transportation -- Michigan
- Veterans Affairs -- South Carolina
"Moving agencies outside of Washington, D.C. both boosts local economies and lowers costs – that’s a winning combination," Sen. Blackburn said of the bill. "This legislation would enable Americans across the country to have greater access to good jobs. Tennesseans would greatly benefit from having portions of the Department of Education in the Volunteer State. It is my hope that the HIRE Act will quickly pass the Senate."
Today @MarshaBlackburn and I are proposing to move 90% of fed bureaucracy jobs out of DC and to economically challenged regions across the country. This will help drive investment & opportunity to workers and places that need it most https://t.co/IrI2jF5J8g
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 23, 2019