Tom Vilsack: USDA Closures Won't Disrupt Service
The closure of nearly 260 offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will not compromise the services the agency provides, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said this week.
Vilsack, who addressed members of the Farm Bureau during the closing session of their annual meeting Jan. 9, said the closures were a necessary part of the agency’s streamlining efforts which are the result of the continuing federal budget deficit.
The agency’s goal is to trim $150 million from its annual budget of $145 billion at a time when its workload is at record highs, and it has less money and fewer people to do the work, Vilsack said. The cuts also come after a year when the nation experienced the largest meat recall and one of the deadliest foodborne illness outbreaks in U.S. history.
The closures, which affect labs and facilities in 46 states, and seven foreign offices include five district offices of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), 11 domestic offices of animal and plant health inspection services, five foreign offices of animal and plant inspection services and 24 soil survey offices. These cuts will not affect the agency’s commitment to keeping the nation’s food supply safe and there will be no reduction of the number of inspectors, he said.
