{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/maryland-delegation-members-county-executive-fight-to-keep-beltsville-agricultural-research-center-open", "Maryland Delegation Members, County Executive Fight to Keep Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Open", "2025-09-24", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "MD", "Chris Van Hollen", "V000128", "www.vanhollen.senate.gov", "vanhollen", "https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Monday, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, U.S. Representatives Steny Hoyer, Glenn Ivey, Jamie Raskin, and April McClain Delaney (all D-Md.), and Prince George\u2019s County Executive Aisha Braveboy visited the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) for a tour of the facilities and briefing from officials on its critical work, and underscored their commitment to keeping the center open as the Trump Administration plans to shutter it.\n\nTheir visit followed the release of the USDA\u2019s reorganization plan, which included a proposal to close the facility and relocate its workforce. Last month, the lawmakers submitted a letter for the USDA\u2019s official comment period on the reorganization plan, warning that the proposal would irreparably undermine U.S. agricultural innovation and harm the countless farmers who depend on BARC\u2019s research.\n\n\u201cFor over a century, BARC has been this country\u2019s premier agricultural research facility \u2013 the source of important scientific breakthroughs that have strengthened American agriculture and helped put food on our tables. We saw firsthand that they need additional resources for critical maintenance \u2013 which we are actively working to provide. We also know that the dedicated researchers at BARC are engaged in essential work and studies that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Displacing this crown jewel of agricultural research and sidelining its talented scientists would prevent many future discoveries and block the development of new techniques that our farmers need to succeed. That\u2019s why we will keep fighting to keep BARC open \u2013 and keep it in Prince George\u2019s County,\u201d said Senator Van Hollen.\n\n\u201cBARC is a world leader in agricultural research, a model of American exceptionalism, and a standard we can\u2019t afford to lose. The Trump Administration's attempt to close BARC is misguided and wrong. Team Maryland remains committed and united in saving BARC,\u201d said Senator Alsobrooks.\n\n\u201cBARC has been the leading engine of innovative agricultural research for decades,\" Congressman Hoyer said. \"Shuttering BARC and scattering its staff across the country would undermine its critical mission to protect the health and safety of the American people. In 1986, I introduced legislation that would prohibit the closure of BARC without Congressional approval and over the last 40 years I've worked to strengthen these protections so that our experts can continue developing solutions for issues including nutrition and food safety. My colleagues in the Maryland Delegation and I will keep fighting to protect BARC and will continue to stand up for the agricultural community and the American people.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe federal government has invested a lot of money and human capital into BARC. These investments have continued the long standing world class agricultural research that talented and dedicated scientists perform on behalf of farmers and consumers. The proximity to NOAA and NASA and other federal agencies creates a dynamism and synergy unique to this facility. Moving it costs too much and destroys or delays the good work being done for taxpayers. I will continue, with my colleagues in the Maryland Federal Delegation, to fight for BARC to stay here in Beltsville,\u201d said Congressman Ivey.\n\n\u201cShutting down the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center would set our agricultural research gains back many years, perhaps decades,\u201d said Congressman Raskin. \u201cThe Trump Administration\u2019s attempts to strip federal facilities from the National Capital Region are not efforts to improve our government\u2019s research capabilities, but to dismantle them. Farmers and ranchers depend on the cutting-edge research conducted by expert civil servant scientists right here in Maryland. Let\u2019s not mess with success.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs the only Marylander on the House Agriculture Committee, I\u2019ve seen the impact BARC has made in production, food security, and innovation \u2014 not to mention the billions of dollars it brings into this economy. Today\u2019s tour truly showcased why we\u2019re fighting for its survival,\u201d said Congresswoman McClain Delaney. \u201cAn efficient government is one that supports key centers like BARC, and I\u2019m grateful to fight for its rightful place in Maryland alongside our devoted delegation.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/maryland-delegation-members-county-executive-fight-to-keep-beltsville-agricultural-research-center-open"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2628270778805017, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}