Shaheen Raises Concerns About USDA Rural Development Reorganization

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies (Ag-FDA) Appropriations Subcommittee , joined her colleagues in raising strong concerns about the plan to reorganize the Rural Development mission area at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The letter was led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Peter Welch (D-VT), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit. The Senators wrote, in part: “We write with significant concern regarding the reorganization of the Rural Development mission area at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rural communities, small businesses, and families will lose access to important services if the proposed reorganization plan moves forward. Rural Development is a unique division within the Department, supporting agriculture and ensuring that rural communities prosper by administering grants and loans to support rural businesses, providing financial support for rural housing, financing the construction of rural health clinics and daycare centers, and championing critical infrastructure projects for water, electric, or broadband.” They continued: “In order for rural communities to benefit from these projects, the Rural Development agency must have the capacity to process applications and disburse funds. The mission area has already lost about 36 percent of its staff last year, with nearly a third of those who left having more than 20 years of USDA experience. The reorganization plan for Rural Development will result in even further cuts, with 60 percent of staff in the National Capital Region being required to relocate to St. Louis or Dallas […] Rural Development’s depletion of staff has already left rural America without the support it needs as the prices of gas, groceries, and agricultural inputs are skyrocketing as a result of tariffs and foreign conflicts. Without adequate and expert staff, the money that Congress has appropriated to help rural communities will not reach its intended beneficiaries.” The full letter can be read HERE . As Ranking Member of the Ag-FDA Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Shaheen has been outspoken about the misguided plans by the Trump Administration to reorganize USDA. Shaheen successfully pushed back against the closure of New Hampshire’s Hubbard Brook and Bartlett Experimental Forests as part of the reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service earlier this year. Following conversations with Secretary Rollins and New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte, Shaheen secured confirmation that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) would not close New Hampshire’s Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest and a commitment from Secretary Rollins to review plans at Bartlett Experimental Forest. ###