In another case of the Trump administration retaliating against federal employees for simply doing their jobs, a team of economists and researchers at the Economic Research Service were put on administrative leave Sept. 22 after the administration cancelled publication of an annual report that measures hunger and food insecurity within the United States.
The Household Food Security Report, which has been distributed annually by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the past 30 years, is used by policymakers, academics, and other stakeholders to track hunger trends, evaluate program effectiveness, and shape nutrition policy.
An administrator with the Economic Research Service, a division within USDA, announced the decision to cancel the survey during meetings with employees the week of Sept. 15. On Sept. 20, the Wall Street Journal first reported the report’s cancellation.
Two days after the Wall Street Journal report, USDA informed about a dozen employees involved in economic research that they were being put on indefinite paid leave due to an “unauthorized disclosure,” AFGE Local 3403 Vice President Laura Dodson said. All of the employees put on leave had attended the agency meetings announcing the cancellation of the food hunger report. They were ordered to turn in their laptop computers.
“Several employees represented by AFGE were placed on administrative leave today after the public learned of USDA’s cancellation of food security data collection,” Dodson told the outlet. “The American people deserve transparency and honest data — not retaliation against the workers who provide it.”
Putting ERS staff on leave will disrupt ongoing studies, delay the release of critical reports, and create fear among federal scientists about political interference.
In a public statement, USDA said the annual reports are “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous” and “failed to present anything more than subjective, liberal fodder.”
On the contrary, the annual report is an objective and evidence-based source of critical information on the state of hunger and food insecurity in the United States. The report helps shape decisions affecting access to public assistance programs including SNAP, WIC, and subsidized school meals.
“Food insecurity disproportionately affects children, seniors, communities of color, rural areas, and low-income households. Eliminating this report means these populations risk being further marginalized, unseen, and underserved,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said.
Eliminating this source of data impairs Congress’ ability to oversee nutrition assistance programs and allocate resources wisely. AFGE has been meeting with our advocates on Capitol Hill and urging them to protect employees from political interference, defend the independence of the USDA’s research arm, and ensure the continuity of critical data such as the annual hunger report.
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