During multiple fly-ins and town hall meetings, farmers and others working in the food system have been asking their representatives in D.C. for help navigating funding pauses and cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In response, Democrats in Congress are pressing the agency for answers, but have yet to get a response.
On March 14, Representative Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) sent a letter signed by 80 House Democrats asking Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to provide details on the canceling of two USDA programs that help move local food from small farms into schools and food banks. On March 20, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) and her New York colleagues Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative John Mannion sent a letter to Rollins regarding a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) proposal to close a state office housing three USDA sub-agencies that support farmers and rural communities. She asked for an explanation as to how the USDA plans to maintain services if the office closes.
And today, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) led 25 Senate Democrats in asking for details on the reported cancellation of food purchases within an emergency hunger program. Klobuchar asked for a prompt response to her questions within a week.
Staff in both Pingree and Gillibrand’s offices told Civil Eats that they have not yet received a response to their letters. It does typically take federal agencies some time to respond to inquiries from Congress, but multiple sources have told Civil Eats off the record that overall, the agency has not been communicating with lawmakers in the way that has historically been typical of the relationship.
However, a spokesperson for Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Arkansas) said that Boozman has had “recent conversations with Secretary Rollins about issues important to farm country” and that Senate Republicans struggled to get timely responses from former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who dismissed their concerns. Boozman is likely referring to an October 2022 letter to then-USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack asking for details about how the agency was using COVID-related funding for non-COVID-related programs. But Democrats are stressing the urgency of their current concerns, such as funding for emergency food purchases that organizations had been expecting to pay farmers and use to feed hungry people.
In response to written questions, a USDA spokesperson echoed that sentiment. “Secretary Rollins prioritizes serious, timely engagement with Congress. The idea that there’s a lapse in responsiveness—based on letters sent just days ago—is simply absurd. Juxtaposed with the Biden Administration, where Secretary Vilsack took months—plural—to respond to even the simplest of inquiries, the Trump Administration values its relationship with Congress.” (Link to this post.)
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