Dear Secretary Rollins,
Partners for Rural America (PRA) was founded in 1998 to support the efforts of its member State Rural Development Councils (SRDCs), which are uniquely positioned to expand economic and social opportunities for America’s rural communities and their residents, promote equal treatment of rural America by government agencies and the private sector and provide a collective voice for rural America.
SRDCs across the country work in their states to conduct research, work with state and federal government officials, partner with other community and economic development organizations and serve as leaders representing the perspective and needs of rural communities throughout their states.
We are writing today to offer our input on Secretary Memorandum 1078-015 regarding the Department of Administration Reorganization Plan. The Reorganization Plan states: “Background: Since its legislated establishment in 1862, USDA has been known as “The People’s Department,” a title reflecting its mission to serve farmers, ranchers, landowners, and rural communities, and perform critical public services that benefit all Americans. The Department is reverting to its core mission…” We would like to emphasize that USDA’s mission is to serve rural communities. There has been much rhetoric recently discussing USDA’s return to core mission as serving farmers only. Farmers are only as strong as their communities. In a time of heightened financial pressure on farmers, ensuring the whole of their rural community is strong is more important than ever. “Most estimates indicate that less than 5% of farms will be profitable this year, for the third year in a row. In fact, nearly 90% of farm families need to rely on off farm income to keep their operations viable and to feed their own families.” This means that the economic opportunity available in rural communities is paramount to the success of farmers. Without strong infrastructure, housing, hospitals, and businesses in rural communities, farmers cannot thrive. USDA must holistically support all of rural communities in order to execute on its “core mission”.
The Reorganization Plan states:
- Principle 1: Ensure the Size of USDA’s Workforce Aligns with Financial Resources and Priorities
Since their creation through the National Rural Development Partnership in the late 1990s, State Rural Development Councils (SRDCs) have acted as public-private partnerships designed to maximize the efficiency of the federal government by promoting collaboration among federal, state, local, and tribal governments and the private and non-profit sectors. The SRDCs accomplish that goal by working directly in and alongside rural communities to efficiently connect their people and places to federal resources. While waning federal support for SRDCs has made it more challenging to execute the work, SRDCs remain a strong and effective strategy for aligning financial and programmatic resources and priorities with the needs of rural places, especially as the USDA reduces its geographic footprint.
Additionally, SRDCs regularly interact with USDA State Office staff. As these teams shrink, so does their capacity to promote and administer critical programs and offerings that rural communities consider essential. In my home state of Wisconsin, our State Office staff has decreased by 50% due to DRP. Fortunately, many private sector agricultural partners, such as Compeer, hired former USDA staff because they recognized the expertise, commitment, and passion of these professionals. USDA is only as strong as the staff that helps our rural communities navigate and access the programs it offers. PRA urges you to ensure all USDA programs have sufficient staffing and expertise to support rural communities’ expedient access to and use of this agency’s resources.
The Reorganization Plan states:
- Principle 4: Consolidate Support Functions
Consolidate grants and financial assistance to provide better controls and promote efficiency. This consolidation will include, where feasible, the transfer of grant making and administration functions from USDA offices and agencies that currently have limited capacity to perform such duties to other offices and agencies. SRDCs often both receive USDA grant funding themselves and help rural communities navigate USDA’s loan and grant processes. As it stands, these processes are cumbersome, bureaucratic, slow-moving and extremely complex. PRA and its SRDC members would welcome a review of USDA grant processes to improve government efficiency. Currently, HRSA is undergoing such a grant simplification process, and we would urge USDA to follow this model for their own programs too. Any transfer of functions should be carried out judiciously to ensure adequate program knowledge, staffing and experience are retained or transitioned for continuity of constituents’ access to and agency administration of critical programs. Thank you for reviewing our comments on the Reorganization Plan and for your daily work to support our rural communities.
Sincerely,
Marie Barry
Chair, Partners for Rural America