Congress locks in rural USDA offices, blocking consolidation.
H.R. 9346 — USDA Field Office Stability Act · Filed by Sharice Davids (D-KS) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 18, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits the USDA Secretary from closing or relocating county and field offices of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, Rural Development, and county service centers, with narrow exceptions for offices within 20 miles of another office (unless in a different state) or routine relocations within the same county. It also requires the Secretary to maintain minimum staffing levels to keep all such centers open during standard business hours. The primary beneficiaries are rural communities and farmers who depend on local USDA services.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a straightforward prohibition on office closures and relocations, coupled with a staffing mandate. It is a protective measure for rural infrastructure, not a deregulation, subsidy, or carve-out.
What the text implies
- Prevents USDA consolidation strategies that might reduce administrative overhead or improve efficiency in densely served areas, potentially locking in higher operational costs.
- May constrain the Secretary's ability to respond to demographic shifts (population decline in some rural counties) by maintaining offices in areas with declining service demand.
- The 20-mile exception creates a geographic safe harbor for offices near state borders, potentially incentivizing strategic office placement to exploit the state-line carve-out.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Rural citizens and farmers gain guaranteed local access to USDA services (conservation, farm credit, rural development) without forced travel to distant offices. The bill protects a public service infrastructure that serves dispersed populations who would otherwise face significant access barriers.
Named in the bill
Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), Rural Development, USDA county service centers
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Jun 18, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 18, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,191 characters) on Jul 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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