USDA scraps plan to close field offices

The Associated Press reported that Agriculture Undersecretary J.B. Penn sent a letter Tuesday to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., in which he said the department would scrap the proposal.

"We recognize that opposition has developed," Penn said in the letter, which Chambliss released on Tuesday. "We thus are prepared to set aside the 'FSA Tomorrow' approach and timetable."

Chambliss had scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the proposal.

In the letter, Penn wrote that the department hoped to revisit the issue of overhauling the county office structure in the coming years.

The county offices, which have existed since the 1930s, certify farmer eligibility for subsidies, handle applications for subsidies and disaster programs and make farm payments. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the consolidation plan in late September, after rumors had circulated for several weeks.

Reaction in Congress was swift and negative. For example, Senate Agriculture ranking member Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ripped plans to close 22 of 100 offices in their state.

"It's hard to believe the objective is better service when, on its face, this plan to shutter nearly a fourth of Iowa's county offices will lead to more driving, greater inconvenience and less service," a Harkin spokesman said.

Late last month, the Senate voted to amend the fiscal 2006 Agriculture appropriations bill to restrict USDA's authority to close county offices.

Jerry Hagstrom contributed to this report.