U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and several colleagues are criticizing a proposed reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which could include closing a Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Amherst and other New England sites.
Following a memo from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on July 24 that suggests the shuttering of USDA offices and various streamlining initiatives, McGovern was joined by Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., in leading the delegation in calling out the plans in a letter to Rollins.
“This wrongheaded move, done without consultation with or even notification to Congress and without the consultation of key stakeholders, will significantly impact farmers and Americans who rely on modest federal nutritional assistance to feed their families,” states the letter, which was also signed by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and four other Massachusetts members of Congress, as well as those in Congress representing New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The website for the Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Amherst lists 27 employees, with staff including biologists, natural resource specialists, resource conservationists and workers who handle everything from farm bill programs to ecological sciences. The office is identified as a 22,428-square-foot building with a $484,122 annual lease.
“We have serious concerns about the possibility of a reduction in the NRCS footprint in the Northeast,” the letter states. “Although, your new memo fails to make clear exactly which offices will be eliminated. Make no mistake, any attempt to reduce NRCS staff in our region will hurt our farmers.”
The letter also references the possible impacts this plan would have on the Food and Nutrition Service and the planned closure of the Northeast Regional Office in Boston that oversees the administration of federal nutrition assistance programs. Its closure, as well as the closure of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, would leave the Northeast
region without a Food and Nutrition Service presence.
The legislators asked for a response by Aug. 29, including a list of offices that would be closed and positions to be moved out of the Northeast. As of Wednesday, Allie Polaski, deputy communications director for McGovern and the House Rules Committee Democrats, said the delegation had not yet received a response from the USDA.
“Finally, we strongly urge you to immediately revoke this memorandum, which will negatively impact farmers and families living in the Northeast,” the letter states.