Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman last week appointed Keith Kelly, director of the Arizona Agriculture Department and a former Montana agriculture commissioner, as administrator of the Farm Service Agency -- the USDA division that hands out federal farm benefits and has offices in nearly every county in the country.
Kelly, who was appointed to both his state posts by Democratic governors, but retained by GOP governors in Arizona, replaces Grant Buntrock, who retired in April. The FSA job does not require Senate confirmation, but Glickman noted Kelly also will hold the title of vice president of the Commodity Credit Corp., which eventually will require Senate approval.
Kelly will take over an agency that has already experienced the closure or consolidation of hundreds of offices and is set to face hundreds more under both congressional and Clinton administration plans. But when a plan to close offices leaked out earlier this year, House Agriculture Committee members held a closed-door meeting with Glickman to tell him the proposed closures were unacceptable.
Glickman said last Friday that he is asking OMB officials and congressional agriculture leaders to hold a "strategy session" on the future of the FSA and its responsibilities, and whether congressional and administration budget plans for the agency are realistic if the FSA is to continue to serve farmers efficiently.
Meanwhile, Glickman today said Kelly will also be "charged with being a strong advocate of civil rights," in an agency that has been plagued with complaints from black farmers.
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