Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development , Energy , and Credit , alongside U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar , Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee , led 20 of their Senate colleagues in raising strong concerns about the plan to reorganize the Rural Development (RD) mission area at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In their letter to Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden, the Senators emphasize that rural communities, small businesses, and families will lose access to important services if the Trump Administration’s proposed reorganization plan of USDA-RD 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,” the Senators wrote . “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% 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% of staff in the National Capital Region being required to relocate to St. Louis or Dallas.” The Senators continued : “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 Senators requested answers to the following questions about the planned reorganization by August 5, 2026 : What analysis did the Department conduct to determine the impacts of staffing cuts on delivering Rural Development services? Please provide a current breakdown of staffing levels and projection of staffing for the next two years by sub-mission area. Given the significant depletion of staff, is Rural Development hiring now or planning to recruit new staff in the next three months? If so, for what positions and where? If USDA anticipates hiring new staff, how will the Department ensure they receive the training needed to effectively serve rural communities with the required expertise and level of service? How does the USDA plan to successfully recruit the next generation of Rural Development employees? While we appreciate the willingness to modernize Rural Development’s technology, previous efforts have been unsuccessful and costly. How will the Department ensure that these technology projects remain within budget and on time? When will these new technologies be available to staff and customers? Joining Senators Welch and Klobuchar on this letter are Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Angus King (I-Maine), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Read and download the Senators’ full letter to Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Vaden. ###