Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who heads the Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, has put forth a new bill aimed at decentralizing the federal workforce currently centralized in the Washington, D.C., area. The proposed legislation, known as the 'Decentralizing and Re-organizing Agency Infrastructure Nationwide To Harness Efficient Services, Workforce Administration, and Management Practices Act' or DRAIN THE SWAMP, seeks to relocate approximately 30% of federal agency employees to locations outside the D.C. metropolitan area.
If passed, the bill would empower the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to oversee the relocation process. Furthermore, the remaining federal workers in the capital region would be required to work in person full-time. The OMB would also be tasked with selling any excess office space resulting from the relocations.
