ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 24, 2025)?— Maryland Comptroller?Brooke E. Lierman?is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reverse its proposed reorganization plan that would relocate thousands of federal jobs out of Maryland, warning of severe economic and operational consequences for both the state and the USDA.
In a formal public comment submitted to USDA leadership, Comptroller Lierman outlined the projected loss of nearly?$200 million annually?in direct federal spending in Maryland due to the relocation of the?Agricultural Research Service (ARS)?headquarters from the George Washington Carver Center (GWCC)?and?Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Prince George’s County.
“As the State of Maryland’s elected CFO, I am committed to quantifying and communicating the direct economic impact of recent actions taken by the federal government to state and local officials and the public,” Comptroller Lierman wrote. “Over the years, people have moved to Maryland and settled here to work at these important divisions of USDA and the highly specialized jobs; building a talent pipeline anywhere else to fill these important jobs would take at least a generation,” Comptroller Lierman added.
According to data from the Office of Personnel Management, there were 872 ARS jobs?during FY 2023 in Maryland that pay more than?$103 million in wages, with?701 of those jobs held by Maryland residents—the majority living in Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard, and Anne Arundel counties.
“These counties have spent years ensuring that our federal agencies, like the USDA, have the workforce they need,” Lierman emphasized. “Relocating these jobs would not only disrupt lives but also dismantle a highly effective and experienced workforce.”
Maryland has lost an estimated 15,000 federal government jobs this year.
In addition to jobs, if the ARS reorganization plan is finalized, Maryland stands to lose $86 million?in annual federal contracts and $4.3 million?in research grants to Maryland universities.
Earlier this year, the Office of the Comptroller, in partnership with the?University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, released a report quantifying the federal government's long-term investments in Maryland prior to the current Trump administration. The agency is working with the university on a second report outlining the economic impact of recent federal actions on the state, including the analysis mentioned in Comptroller Lierman’s letter. You can read the federal impact report by visiting https://www.marylandcomptroller.gov/reports/research-reports.html
