II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 493 

To require Federal agencies not performing security functions to relocate 

throughout the United States by the beginning of fiscal year 2030. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. YOUNG introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To require Federal agencies not performing security functions to relocate throughout the United States by the 

beginning of fiscal year 2030. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Decentralize Regu5 latory Agencies, Include the Nation Act of 2019’’ or the 

6 ‘‘DRAIN Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. RELOCATION OF FEDERAL NONSECURITY AGEN8 CIES TO LOCATIONS OUTSIDE THE NATIONAL 

9 CAPITAL REGION. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad2 ministrator of General Services; 

3 (2) the term ‘‘agency’’— 

4 (A) means an Executive department (as 

5 defined in section 101 of title 5, United States 

6 Code) and an independent establishment (as de7 fined in section 104 of title 5, United States 

8 Code); and 

9 (B) does not include the Government Ac10 countability Office; 

11 (3) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

12 the Office of Management and Budget; 

13 (4) the term ‘‘local government’’ means a city, 

14 town, township, county, parish, village, or other gen15 eral purpose political subdivision of a State; 

16 (5) the term ‘‘National Capital region’’ has the 

17 meaning given that term in section 8702 of title 40, 

18 United States Code; 

19 (6) the term ‘‘nonsecurity agency’’ means an 

20 agency that is not a security agency; 

21 (7) the term ‘‘security agency’’ means an agen22 cy that receives the majority of the funding for the 

23 agency under an appropriation Act making appro24 priations— 

25 (A) for the Department of Defense; 


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1 (B) for the Department of Homeland Se2 curity; or 

3 (C) for the Department of State, foreign 

4 operations, and related programs; and 

5 (8) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

6 States of the United States. 

7 (b) PLAN.—The Director and the Administrator shall 

8 jointly develop and implement a plan under which the 

9 headquarters of each nonsecurity agency that is not ex10 empted under subsection (d) shall be relocated to a loca11 tion outside the National Capital region by not later than 

12 the later of— 

13 (1) October 1, 2029; or 

14 (2) if applicable, the date on which the lease in 

15 effect on the date of enactment of this Act for the 

16 building in which the headquarters of the nonsecu17 rity agency is located expires. 

18 (c) DETERMINATION OF AREA FOR RELOCATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The plan under subsection 

20 (b) shall require that the location to which the head21 quarters of a nonsecurity agency shall be relocated 

22 be determined by the Director, the Administrator, 

23 and the head of the nonsecurity agency on a com24 petitive basis, in accordance with this subsection. 


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1 (2) APPLICATION.—A State or local government 

2 desiring that a nonsecurity agency relocate the head3 quarters of the nonsecurity agency to an area that 

4 is under the jurisdiction of the State or local govern5 ment shall submit an application at such time, in 

6 such manner, and accompanied by such information 

7 as the Director and the Administrator shall jointly 

8 establish. 

9 (3) PRIORITY.—The Director, the Adminis10 trator, and the head of the nonsecurity agency shall 

11 give priority to an application under this subsection 

12 proposing the headquarters of a nonsecurity agency 

13 be located in an area— 

14 (A) for which the rate of unemployment is 

15 higher than the average rate of unemployment 

16 in the United States, as determined by the Sec17 retary of Labor; 

18 (B) with a nexus between the nonsecurity 

19 agency and the geographic area in which the 

20 nonsecurity agency regulates; or 

21 (C) with existing infrastructure to effi22 ciently support the size and scope of the reloca23 tion of the headquarters of the nonsecurity 

24 agency. 


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1 (4) DETERMINATION.—The location to which 

2 the headquarters of a nonsecurity agency shall be re3 located shall be determined by a majority vote of the 

4 Director, the Administrator, and the head of the 

5 nonsecurity agency. 

6 (d) EXEMPTIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may exempt a 

8 nonsecurity agency from the requirement to relocate 

9 the headquarters of the nonsecurity agency if the 

10 President determines that the headquarters of the 

11 nonsecurity agency should remain in the current lo12 cation. 

13 (2) REPORTING.—If the President exempts a 

14 nonsecurity agency under paragraph (1), the Presi15 dent shall submit to Congress a report detailing the 

16 basis for the determination of the President that the 

17 headquarters of the nonsecurity agency should re18 main in the current location. 

19 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 72 of title 

20 4, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘All of21 fices’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in the DRAIN 

22 Act, all offices’’. 

23 (f) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi24 tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 


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1 of this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using 

2 amounts otherwise authorized. 

Æ 


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