WASHINGTON (RuralWire), July 13, 2012 – Just this week, the House Agriculture Committee passed an amendment to the 2012 Farm Bill offered by Representatives Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, and Rick Crawford, R-Arkansas, that would prevent the Department of Agriculture from closing any Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices until county workload assessments are completed. The National Association of FSA County Office Employees (NASCOE) appreciates Representatives Boswell and Crawford bipartisan leadership and applauds the full committee for including this amendment in the final bill.
NASCOE President John Lohr stated, “On behalf of the NASCOE membership, I would like to thank Congressmen Boswell and Crawford for their leadership in assuring that Farm Service Agency office closures are conducted in a manner that includes a full review of the workload in those offices, accessibility for farmers and ranchers, and provide that no region of the United States is underserved. NASCOE has long advocated a businesslike review for any office closures that allows stakeholder input, not random closures that disproportionately impact certain regions of the U.S. and provide little practical savings.”
Lohr continues, “The Boswell and Crawford amendment is a positive step forward in putting common sense in the office closure process. We must now turn our attention to encouraging the House to pass this Farm Bill with this language included and work to ensure this language is included in the Bill that makes it out of the joint House and Senate Conference Committee.”
Source: RuralWire
Posted by Haylie Shipp
