What This Bill Does
This bill requires each executive agency (federal government department or office) to move its headquarters outside the Washington, D.C., area. The bill repeals an existing law that required certain agency headquarters to stay in the capital region and sets deadlines for agencies to create and carry out relocation plans.
Who It Affects
Executive agencies (federal government departments and offices), except the Executive Office of the President. Employees of these agencies who work at headquarters. Congress receives the relocation plans from each agency.
Key Provisions
• By September 30, 2024, the head of each executive agency must develop and submit a plan to Congress for moving the agency's headquarters outside the Washington metropolitan area (Sec. 2(b)(1)).
• The relocation plan must identify a new headquarters location, maximize cost savings, limit agency employees in the Washington area to no more than 10 percent after the move, and consider national security risks (Sec. 2(b)(2)).
• The Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Administrator of General Services must certify that each plan meets all requirements before the agency submits it (Sec. 2(b)(3)).
• By September 30, 2028, each agency must complete the relocation by putting its plan into action (Sec. 2(b)(4)).
• An existing law requiring certain agency headquarters locations is repealed (Sec. 2(a)).
What Changes
If this becomes law, federal agencies cannot keep their main offices in the Washington, D.C., area. The geographic area defined as "Washington metropolitan area" includes Washington D.C., Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland, and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon and Prince William Counties plus the City of Alexandria in Virginia.
Important Definitions
"Executive agency" means federal government departments and offices as defined in federal law, but does not include the Executive Office of the President (the offices that directly support the President).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 978
To require the head of each executive agency to relocate such agency outside
of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 10, 2023
Mr. DAVIDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Accountability
A BILL
To require the head of each executive agency to relocate
such agency outside of the Washington, D.C., metropoli-
tan area, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drain the Swamp Act
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of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. RELOCATION OF AGENCY HEADQUARTERS.
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(a) REPEAL
OF HEADQUARTERS LOCATION RE-
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QUIREMENT.—Section 72 of title 4, United States Code,
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is repealed.
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(b) HEADQUARTERS RELOCATION PLAN.—
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•HR 978 IH
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September
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30, 2024, the head of each executive agency shall
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develop and submit to Congress a plan for the relo-
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cation of the headquarters of that agency outside of
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the Washington metropolitan area.
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(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan described in
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paragraph (1) shall—
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(A) identify a location for a new head-
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quarters outside of the Washington metropoli-
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tan area;
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(B) maximize any potential cost savings
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associated with the relocation;
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(C) provide that, upon implementation of
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the plan, no more than 10 percent of the em-
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ployees of the agency are based in the Wash-
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ington metropolitan area; and
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(D) consider any potential national secu-
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rity implications of the relocation.
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(3) CERTIFICATION.—Prior to the submission
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of a plan under paragraph (1), the Director of the
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Office of Management and Budget and the Adminis-
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trator of General Services shall certify the compli-
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ance of the plan with the provisions of this section
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if the plan meets the requirements described in
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paragraph (2).
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•HR 978 IH
(4) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than Sep-
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tember 30, 2028, the head of each executive agency
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shall implement the plan for such agency submitted
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under paragraph (1).
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(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
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(1) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘executive
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agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘Executive
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agency’’ in section 105 of title 5, United States
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Code, except that the term does not include the Ex-
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ecutive Office of the President.
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(2) WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA.—The
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term ‘‘Washington metropolitan area’’ means the ge-
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ographic area located within the boundaries of—
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(A) the District of Columbia;
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(B) Montgomery and Prince George’s
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Counties in the State of Maryland; and
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(C)
Arlington,
Fairfax,
Loudon,
and
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Prince William Counties and the City of Alex-
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andria in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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Æ
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