Text: SCR00010 Text: SCR00012 Text: SCR00000 - SCR00099 Text: SCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___ 1 2 BY BARTZ 1 3 A Concurrent Resolution requesting the United States 1 4 government ensure that the Farm Service Agency 1 5 of the United States Department of Agriculture be 1 6 supported and structured in a manner that preserves 1 7 the efficient operation of the agency at the 1 8 community level. 1 9 WHEREAS, the Farm Service Agency of the United 1 10 States Department of Agriculture provides essential 1 11 services to agricultural producers in rural 1 12 communities, including providing loans, providing crop 1 13 insurance, and administering commodity programs; and 1 14 WHEREAS, the Farm Service Agency is one of the most 1 15 efficient and cost-effective agencies in the federal 1 16 government which provides services through county 1 17 offices which with small budgets and a strong 1 18 commitment to service have assisted communities for 1 19 more than sixty years; and 1 20 WHEREAS, the workload for county offices has 1 21 steadily increased, especially since the enactment of 1 22 the federal 1996 Farm Bill and other federal 1 23 legislation which depends upon the vital role of 1 24 county offices to deliver services to producers; and 1 25 WHEREAS, there has been a continuing effort to 1 26 reduce budgets and cut staff in county offices as part 1 27 of an effort to reduce the size and restructure the 1 28 organization of the United States Department of 1 29 Agriculture; and 1 30 WHEREAS, the United States Department of 2 1 Agriculture proposes to close forty to fifty offices 2 2 in this state during the next two-year period as part 2 3 of a process requiring one thousand office closings 2 4 and a total staff reduction of two thousand eight 2 5 hundred fifty in the United States; and 2 6 WHEREAS, the proposal provides for reducing offices 2 7 and staff based on geographic factors rather than on 2 8 an analysis of how to most effectively deliver 2 9 services and meet the needs of producers; and 2 10 WHEREAS, the effect of this proposal will be to 2 11 frustrate a producer's ability to obtain essential 2 12 services in a timely and efficient manner, and which 2 13 will have a negative impact on the economies of rural 2 14 communities; and 2 15 WHEREAS, the President of the United States and the 2 16 United States Congress have expressed a philosophy 2 17 supporting the decentralization of the federal 2 18 government and eliminating waste in centralized 2 19 bureaucratic enclaves rather than at a level where 2 20 services are provided by neighbors; and 2 21 WHEREAS, Congress has expressed a strong commitment 2 22 to the delivery of services by county offices by 2 23 initiating a moratorium which currently prevents the 2 24 implementation of this devastating proposal; NOW 2 25 THEREFORE, 2 26 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF 2 27 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the United States 2 28 Department of Agriculture reexamine its proposal to 2 29 close Farm Service Agency county offices and that the 2 30 Congress of the United States fully support the 3 1 delivery of vital services provided by county offices 3 2 in a manner that preserves the efficient operation of 3 3 the agency at the community level; and 3 4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this 3 5 resolution be sent by the Secretary of the Senate to 3 6 the President of the United States; the Secretary of 3 7 Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture; 3 8 the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 3 9 United States; the chairman of the United States 3 10 Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 3 11 Forestry; the chairman of the United States House of 3 12 Representatives Committee on Agriculture; and members 3 13 of Iowa's congressional delegation. 3 14 LSB 2456SS 77 3 15 da/jj/8.1
Text: SCR00010 Text: SCR00012 Text: SCR00000 - SCR00099 Text: SCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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