Petition to Keep USDA BARC in Maryland
To:
The Honorable Brooke Leslie Rollins
Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Mr. Malcom Shorter, Acting Assistant Secretary for Administration, USDA
Ms. Yeshi Abebe, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration, USDA
Email: reorganization@usda.gov
August 31, 2025
Petition to keep USDA BARC in Maryland
We, the undersigned, 21 Maryland State Legislators and more than 300 residents across Maryland, are writing to express our grave concern and strong opposition to the proposed reorganization plan that would lead to the closure and relocation of the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). With a proud history spanning over 115 years, BARC stands as the world’s largest and most critical agricultural research institution, providing invaluable scientific contributions that secure our nation’s food supply and drive agricultural innovation.
The proposed relocation threatens to dismantle a century of accumulated expertise, infrastructure, and institutional knowledge. Moving BARC would disrupt ongoing critical research projects and jeopardize the careers of hundreds of dedicated scientists and staff who have made Maryland their home. The economic and social fabric of our local community, built around this center of excellence, would be severely damaged.
We urge the USDA to reconsider this plan and to recognize the irreplaceable value of keeping BARC intact and operational in its current location. Preserving BARC in Maryland is not just a matter of convenience; it is a matter of national importance. It ensures the continuity of vital research, protects a massive public investment, and honors the legacy of scientific excellence that has long defined USDA’s mission.
We call on you to listen to the voices of stakeholders, including the employees who are the heart of this institution, and to halt any plans that would undermine the mission and future of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.
The stability, pride and prosperity of research for our nation’s agriculture community lie in your hand and we urge you to keep them where they are now.
Sincerely,
Delegate Chao Wu
Maryland State Delegate, District 9A (Howard and Montgomery Counties)
Exhibit: Co-signers for the petition:
Members of Maryland General Assembly
| Senator Jeff Waldstreicher |
| Senator Cory McCray |
| Senator Ron Watson |
| Senator Alonzo Washington |
| Delegate Chao Wu |
| Delegate Aletheia McCaskill |
| Delegate Gary Simmons |
| Delegate Kris Fair |
| Delegate Joseline A. Pe’na Melnyk |
| Delegate Courtney Watson |
| Delegate Kym Taylor |
| Delegate Matthew J. Schindler |
| Delegate Eric Ebersole |
| Delegate Ashanti Martinez |
| Delegate Greg Wims |
| Delegate Julie Palakovich Carr |
| Delegate Joe Vogel |
| Delegate CT Wilson |
| Delegate Jen Terrasa |
| Delegate Sheila Ruth |
| Delegate Jared Solomon |
Community Members
| Christina Ni |
| Xuhui Zhao |
| Yan Zhang |
| Ping Geng |
| Mengling Yang |
| Xiao Dong |
| Qiang Cai |
| Rose Li |
| Qiang HUANG |
| Zilin Zhou |
| Ruibo Han |
| Yixin Qiu |
| Junmei Tang |
| Jun Gui |
| Jeff Sun |
| Yao Lu |
| Junfeng Huang |
| Zhen Wang |
| Ting lei |
| Faya wang |
| Minzhi Liu |
| Nan Jiang |
| Cheung Yeung |
| Sonya Chang |
| Zachary Lamas |
| Ju Jiang |
| Jennifer Lo |
| Zhenhua Xu |
| Zoe Zuo |
| Haichen song |
| Hongjun Yang |
| David zhu |
| Amy Feng |
| Yi Song |
| Yaping Wu |
| Susu Lauer |
| Kui Zhao |
| Yingzhe Tao |
| Hanna Liu |
| Naili |
| yingdong yuan |
| Zejun wang |
| Jane Tian |
| Qiong Xu |
| Lun Li |
| Feng Gao |
| Nina li |
| Jeff shang |
| Hadassah Bolden |
| Jacquelynn Tintle |
| Ligang Chen |
| Yongguang Han |
| Jamie xu |
| Fay tang |
| Ye wang |
| Yiming Zhu |
| Jodi Cohen |
| Oliver Ha |
| Ziying Liu |
| Ray He |
| Cindy Chen |
| Hong Hu |
| Zhiyong Yang |
| Alan Max |
| Jian Li |
| Hong ning |
| Jon San |
| Lijun Shao |
| Jean Xu |
| Jing tian |
| Bin Liu |
| Jiyu Zhan |
| Yan Sun |
| Ruhui Li |
| Hanna wang |
| Bin Tan |
| Lili Liu |
| Mingxian Li |
| Lu Huang |
| Shien Hu |
| Feng Ding |
| Heshun Wang |
| Angela Li |
| Xiang Zhang |
| Charlie Wei |
| Min He |
| Yuzhi Hu |
| Chen Mei |
| Yangbing Li |
| Richard Li |
| Zhiling Li |
| Yujie Wang |
| Lan Ma |
| Kai chiu |
| Jiao yang |
| Kyle Grubbs |
| Bao Zhang |
| Bo Sun |
| Wei Wang |
| Chong Zhang |
| Daqian Huang |
| chung-chi cha |
| Mark Wu |
| Jian Yang |
| Weimin Hou |
| Xi Zhang |
| Chen Li |
| Ariel Zhang |
| Quansheng Lu |
| Shang Zhou |
| Ruili Zhu |
| Xiukun Geng |
| Young Wang |
| Xiaopeng Hu |
| Jennifer Guo |
| David Shen |
| Reggie Zhan |
| Jean Tang |
| Yun Teng |
| Guangpeng xian |
| Shenghui Yang |
| Jiarui Dong |
| Hongling Zhou |
| Aron Zhang |
| Ying zhang |
| Qiuping Zhao |
| Rick Jiang |
| Qian Chen |
| Li chen |
| Jiangmei Wang |
| Xiaoxin Hu |
| Li Zhang |
| Hao He |
| Lynne Gilliland |
| George Gliba |
| Beverly J. Conner |
| Tony Qin |
| Meredith Pyle |
| Cynthia Sokolow |
| Jifu Yin |
| Vanessa Zanin |
| Lynn McKee |
| dan gillotte |
| Huang Gu |
| Piri Jenkins |
| Donghui Song |
| Qiong Wang |
| Annette W Davis |
| Lindsey Mendelson |
| Haiqing Zhao |
| Xiaojing Qi |
| Xinzhong Fong |
| Halcyon Ahearn |
| Jingfeng Huang |
| Wenhua wang |
| Youhua Tang |
| Patricia Combs |
| Kevin P Brown |
| Bin Duan |
| Haijun Xiao |
| Aaminah Shah |
| Olayanju Kunle-Rabiu |
| Naima Dulic |
| Jessica Garbarczyk |
| Elizabeth Christiansen |
| Meng Gao |
| Xiwu Zhan |
| Steve Bolen |
| Kristen Piggott |
| Yanming Bi |
| Zhihao Liu |
| Bo Xie |
| Hua Lu |
| Anne Marigza |
| Jiachen Zhuo |
| Kathleen Linkenhoker |
| Aline Salaam |
| Tess Jaffe |
| Cynthia Suen |
| Chelly Tavss |
| Xueying Ni |
| Kristin Stenson |
| Natalie Ormsby |
| Xiumin Liu |
| martin zhu |
| Cixin Wang |
| Delia Tang |
| Eileen Zeller |
| Cixin wang |
| David Karst |
| Ye Yan |
| Mei Han |
| Janice Wolf |
| Sterling Sanders |
| Christine Carey |
| Kathy Bartolomeo |
| Omar khan |
| Rebecca H Mayo |
| Rhonda Kay pavel |
| Deborah Hope Baggety |
| Sharon Werth |
| Jeri Boliek |
| Brooks Boliek |
| Jinhua Wang |
| Tianzhen Ren |
| John Campanile |
| Katherine Marek |
| Yang Yu |
| Simon Liu |
| John Ausema |
| Aileen Kroll |
| Ro Abdumonaf |
| Kusuma Prabhakara |
| Janice Reyes |
| Warren Young |
| Janice Young |
| Ruby Dessiatoun |
| Grace Fisher |
| Emily Cheung |
| Mary Bruzzese |
| Chris Herman |
| Jeffrey Harrison |
| Virginia Lawson |
| EllenLee |
| Lynda Wright |
| Bethany Hopper |
| SHARON bailey |
| Katie fuerst |
| Kim Rush Lynch |
| Dianne Wallace |
| Richard Wallace |
| Tara Wahle |
| Amy Lloyd |
| Benjamin Fischler |
| Holly Leon-Lierman |
| Katrina Boverman |
| Sara Bloom Leeds |
| Linda Ivy |
| Joseph Harris |
| Rosemary Weber |
| Jacquelyn Waters |
| Edward B. Fallon |
| Tara Rice |
| Julie Boynton |
| Karen Kay Hess |
| Heather Norden |
| Amy Drew |
| Dr. M. Samuey |
| Ruth White |
| Qinghong Shi |
| Bette Farris |
| Alicia Deligianis |
| Carol Bonkosky |
| Melanie Kalos |
| Madeleine Jepsen |
| Yishan Yang |
| Reina Pinkine |
| Leah Moore |
| Michelle Kretsch |
| Jerry Wang |
| LaWann Stribling |
| Barb Ge |
| Carol Pelosi |
| Jennifer McGovern |
| Liz Enagonio |
| Wendy Hurlock Baker |
| Dale Wilding |
| Sandra Stephon |
| Ann G Polvinale |
| Barry Bordas |
| Chidi Obineche |
| Sydney Golden |
| Amanda Carey |
| Catherine Fry |
| Nicole McCrimmon |
| Ganyu Gu |
| Linda Brashears |
| Sheila Maffay-Tuthill |
| Suzette Agans |
| deborah schoenfeld |
| Matthew Swanson |
| Brooks Scoville |
| Kristin Wenzel |
| Tequilla Taylor |
| Leslie Valencia |
| Melinda He |
| Jeniffer Leon |
| Julie Harris |
| Amanda M. Wilhelm |
| Amy Li |
| Kristen Weaver |
| Anne Gardner |
| Xiaohong Shi |
| Qiong Zhou |
| Tina Mattingly |
| Alison Miller |
| Talon Bevan |
| Ben Hollander |
| Aviva Glaser |
| Eileen Hollander |
| Yvonne Fishbein |
| Adam Fishbein |
| Brian Frankel |
| Tammy Becraft |
| Desmond Jordan Julia Raymond |
| Gidon van Emden |
| Miriam Glaser |
| Leah Hollander |
| Amy Drew |
| William Drew |
| Tiandong Li |
| Weihua Mao |
| Carl Carrington |
| Alice A. Mitchell |
| Jennifer Lindstrom |
| Eric Coaxum |
| Elaine Weston |
| Misay priest |
| Sandra L Roberts |
| Melissa Cardon |
| Phyllis Oresky |
| Michael Chapman |
| Laura L Kressler |
| Changxing Shao |
| Melissa Ann Ehrenreich |
| Carol Sue Nevitt |
| Kassie Coulson |
| Suzanne Monthie |
| Roger S Davis |
| Harleigh Ealley |
| Shaela Jones Mecholsky |