Support the Drain the Swamp Act, H.R. 826

On behalf of FreedomWorks’ activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to co-sponsor the Drain the Swamp Act, H.R. 826, introduced by Reps. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.). The bill would require the heads of executive agencies to develop and implement relocation plans to move executive agencies outside of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

In his 1996 State of the Union address, President Bill Clinton boldly declared that the “era of big government is over.” Well, that just wasn’t true. Fast-forward more than 20 years, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area has become recession-proof. It’s home to five of the ten highest median income counties in the United States.

At the height of the most recent recession, while the unemployment rate for the United States was at 10 percent, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area had a 6.3 percent unemployment rate. As incomes in the much of the United States declined, incomes in the D.C. area rose by more than 23 percent.

Clearly, the D.C. area, which headquarters most federal agencies, has become dependent on big government. Federal agencies promulgate major rules without any concern of the impact on businesses and consumers.

The Drain the Swamp Act requires the heads of executive agencies to develop relocation plans to move executive agencies outside of the D.C. area and submit them to Congress by September 30, 2018. Only 10 percent of an executive agency’s employees can remain in the D.C. area. The bill also requires executive agencies to implement relocation plans by September 30, 2023.

President Donald Trump campaigned on “draining the swamp.” The Drain the Swamp Act will reduce operating costs of executive agencies and expose them to life outside the D.C. bubble. For these reasons, we urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to co-sponsor the Drain the Swamp Act.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon, President and CEO, FreedomWorks