Several Louisiana federal agency offices are losing their leases as part of a statewide cost-cutting initiative spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal watchdog established by the Trump Administration whose stated aim is to streamline government spending and minimise waste.
The DOGE website, which analyses government cost-cutting measures, claims that the initiative has saved over US$105bn across the country through asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud eliminations, and lease terminations. As of March 6, the expected savings per taxpayer were US$652.17.
The largest cost-cutting strategy among the terminated Louisiana agency leases involved the Social Security Administration in Houma, which had an annual leasing cost of more than US$550,000.
The agency's lease was terminated through a "agency-approved lease termination," which means that the agency consented to evacuate the premises, according to Louisiana First News.
OSHA office to be closed
One of the eight federal agencies affected by these cuts in Louisiana is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). DOGE stated it was a “Mass Mod” termination, meaning leases that are cancelled through mass modifications.
OSHA's 8,041 sq ft Louisiana office, which is located in the state capital Baton Rouge, costs the US government US$187,451 every year. According to DOGE, closing this office space will save the government US$109,346.
OSHA is a division of the United States Department of Labour that oversees occupational safety and health.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA strives to ensure safe and healthy working conditions by establishing and enforcing standards, as well as providing training, outreach, education, and assistance.
There has been no official statement from OSHA at the time of writing this report.
Other health and safety organisations impacted
Other organisations that are closing their offices include the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), which is the legal team within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A report by Fierce Healthcare hyas indicated that OGC is closing six of its ten regional offices. This however does not appear to be mandated by DOGE.
The report stated that HSS regional offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle will close. In certain cases, these regional offices are located in government buildings that were temporarily added to the General Services Administration's (GSA) non-core property list last week. This list suggested that the government is willing to remove federal buildings from its national footprint.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could also be impacted by spending cuts, given that the US government is looking to divest from non-core properties.
It remains unclear how the employees working for these all of these agencies will be affected.
DOGE terminates Louisiana federal agency leases; OSHA affected
DOGE is planning to close the Louisiana OSHA office.
