DeLauro Applauds USDA Decision to Keep Farm Offices Open

Press Release

DeLauro Applauds USDA Decision to Keep Farm Offices Open

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3), ranking member of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, today issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) decision to keep Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices open. USDA was considering a plan to close 713 of the 2,351 FSA offices nationwide that help farmers with government programs that provide payments and loans. Last month, DeLauro met with USDA's Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services J.B. Penn and expressed her concern over the possibility of closing these offices.

"FSA offices connect our nation's farmers and ranchers with important government programs - support that is especially critical with disaster assistance in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and with the ongoing drought in the Midwest. Closing these 713 offices, as USDA had proposed, would have further weakened America's farmers and ranchers' ability to recover from these natural disasters.

"I applaud USDA's decision to keep these farm offices open and am encouraged that to learn that USDA is reacting to the concerns raised by myself and other members of Congress. "

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