In the first serious congressional disagreement with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, the Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to vote on Thursday to reinstate the post of undersecretary for rural development, eliminated five weeks ago by Perdue in a USDA reorganization. “We want that position in place as part of our emphasis on rural development,” said Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota.
There is “a strong feeling on the committee” in favor of the undersecretary post, said Hoeven, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees USDA-FDA funding. He said language to re-establish the sub-cabinet post will be part of a so-called manager’s amendment that he will offer when the full committee meets on the USDA-FDA bill. Manager’s amendments are usually given pro forma approval.
Perdue eliminated the undersecretary post at the same time he carried out an order from the 2014 farm law to create a slot for an undersecretary for trade, a long-time goal of farm groups. He folded rural economic development into his own portfolio and hired Anne Hazlett, the head lawyer for the Senate Agriculture Committee, as assistant to the secretary for rural development.
An array of farm, local government, community development and environmental groups emphatically disagree with Perdue’s statement that he elevated rural development in importance by making it an agency that reports directly to him. “Rural America will have a seat at the table and walk-in privileges from Day One,” said Perdue. Some 600 groups signed a letter saying that reorganization relegated rural development to a secondary role.
The USDA has seven undersecretaries, each in charge of a major operating arm, such as meat safety, the farm program, research or the national forests.
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the senior Democrat on Hoeven’s subcommittee, questioned Perdue strongly about the USDA reorganization, along with White House proposals to cut rural development funding by 30 percent, during a mid-June hearing. Perdue asked for a chance to show his plan will work. “If you do not think we are making progress in rural development by the time the (2018) farm bill comes up, I welcome you all to direct us to create the nomenclature for an undersecretary for rural development,” he said.
The $145 billion USDA-FDA funding bill approved on a voice vote by Hoeven’s subcommittee for the fiscal year opening on Oct. 1 rejects President Trump’s proposed cuts in rural development, crop insurance and food stamps. Overall, it is a cut of less than 2 percent from current levels.
“Our view is that we continue to support agriculture,” Hoeven told reporters afterward. “Ag is in a tough spot” with few reasons to expect an improvement in lackluster commodity prices in the near term.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition said Merkley was in the forefront of Senate efforts to keep the rural development post. The senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, also wants to retain the post, which requires Senate confirmation.
To read a Senate Appropriations Committee summary of the USDA-FDA funding bill, click here.