Minneapolis Review

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, addressed concerns about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) reorganization proposal during a committee hearing in Washington. The hearing featured testimony from USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden.

In her opening statement, Klobuchar criticized the Administration for releasing the plan with little notice and without consulting agricultural leaders. She said, "Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for working with me to hold this hearing at the last moment. And the reason it's short notice is because the Administration put out a half-baked plan with no notice and without consulting agricultural leaders."

Klobuchar expressed support for improving USDA operations but objected to workforce reductions that have already resulted in 15,000 fewer employees through early buyouts and firings. She stated: "As we start this discussion, let me be clear: I support efforts to make USDA work, but I don't think getting rid of 15,000 employees, which has already happened because of early buyouts, because of firing people, because of everything else that's happened, is good for agriculture. I don't think that these tariffs, which have dried up markets when our farmers and ranchers are already working on thin margins, have been good for Agriculture."

She also questioned whether relocating staff would benefit rural communities or instead weaken essential services. "We have a half-baked agenda that will almost certainly result here in worse services for farmers and families in rural communities," she said.

Klobuchar pointed to past relocations within USDA agencies as cautionary examples. She referenced a 2023 Government Accountability Office report indicating that previous moves led to reduced research output and delays in grant processing: "A 2023 report by the Government Accountability Office...underscores the threat that these short-sighted actions have on USDA stakeholders. GAO explicitly stated...that ERS produced fewer key reports and that NIFA took longer to process grants because of relocation."

She further warned about potential disruptions if longstanding research labs are vacated or if more researchers leave federal service: "Vacating long-standing research labs...and pushing researchers out of federal service will threaten the innovation that our farmers demand and need to combat animal and plant disease."

Klobuchar concluded by emphasizing the lack of Congressional input into the reorganization plan: "And before I close, I want to point out that this reorganization plan...was developed without input of Congress or the very stakeholders USDA aims to serve. It is unacceptable that we learned about this proposal just minutes before it was announced."

The hearing aimed to clarify how proposed changes might affect USDA’s ability to respond to wildfires, administer nutrition programs, protect civil rights, and serve American farmers.