Gillibrand to USDA: Don't close Farm Service Agency offices in New York
Robert Harding
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is urging leaders of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee to include a provision in the 2015 agriculture appropriations bill to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture from closing 250 Farm Service Agency offices throughout the country, including as many as 10 in New York.
President Barack Obama, in his 2015 budget plan, proposed consolidating 250 Farm Service Agency offices as part of efforts to modernize the Department of Agriculture's farm program delivery system. The proposal suggests the effort is to "ensure offices are strategically located and have adequate staffing and equipment to strengthen services to producers."
Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is hoping to prevent the closures.
"Requiring our farmers to drive four hours round trip to their local USDA office is absurd," Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in a statement Friday. "These offices serve farmers when they need it most — after natural disasters, to access credit through FSA loans and to participate in insurance programs.
http://auburnpub.com/blogs/eye_on_ny/gillibrand-to-usda-don-t-close-farm-service-agency-offices/article_e5311a6a-ab83-11e3-ba2a-0019bb2963f4.html
