USDA accepting feedback on reorganization through August 26

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Friday that USDA will accept comments on the Trump administration’s plan to reorganize the Agriculture Department for a 30-day period ending Tuesday, August 26. In a reorganization outlined in a secretarial memorandum released July 24, Rollins said the Trump administration intends to close the South Building across from the USDA headquarters in Washington, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and other facilities, and move 2,600 of the 4,600 USDA positions in the National Capital Region to five “hub” cities: Raleigh, N.C., Kansas City, Mo., Indianapolis, Ind., Fort Collins, Colo., and Salt Lake City, Utah. “As committed, we are continuing to hear stakeholder feedback on the USDA reorganization,” Rollins said in a news release.

“All stakeholders — including Capitol Hill offices, USDA employees, and members of the agricultural community — are encouraged to share their input during the open comment period. We value your perspective as we work to ensure that USDA is best positioned to serve America’s farmers, ranchers, producers, and rural communities.”

The release also noted that USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said in his testimony before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, “President Trump made clear his second term would include relocating the sprawling federal bureaucracy to locations outside the National Capital Region.”

“The department’s July 24 memorandum begins to deliver on this promise and does so in a way that right-sizes the USDA footprint, eliminates unnecessary management layers, consolidates redundant or duplicative functions, and, most importantly, allows USDA to deliver on its mission to the American people within the bounds of its available financial resources,” Vaden said.

USDA said it is conducting the reorganization under its authority established in the Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 (5 U.S.C. app.; 7 U.S.C. 2201 note) and The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-354). USDA is not using the formal system of submitting comments through the Federal Register. Instead, stakeholders, including USDA employees, members of Congress, and agricultural and nutrition partners, are encouraged to provide feedback by emailing reorganization@usda.gov. 

–The Hagstrom Report