AIBS joined 50 other stakeholder organizations in a letter to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees raising concerns about recent changes within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area.
The letter warns that significant staffing reductions across REE agencies—including the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Economic Research Service (ERS), and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)—combined with proposed laboratory closures and reorganization efforts, risk undermining the nation’s agricultural research capacity. It also highlights historical evidence suggesting that prior USDA relocations led to substantial staff losses and reduced research output.
In addition, the signatories point to delays in distributing congressionally appropriated research funds and inconsistent agency directives as factors disrupting ongoing research projects, slowing grant processing, and affecting university-based agricultural science programs. These challenges, the letter argues, threaten the continuity of critical long-term agricultural research .
The coalition urges Congress to conduct oversight hearings, require detailed accounting of workforce and funding disruptions, and ensure transparent implementation of any restructuring within USDA’s REE mission area. The letter also emphasizes that sustained federal investment in agricultural research is essential to maintaining U.S. competitiveness, food security, and the productivity of American agriculture.
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