Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research held a hearing to review the administration and management of contracts for the USDA conservation programs.
The hearing focused on the importance of ensuring that USDA conservation programs are meeting the taxpayers’ expectations for responsible management, accountability and assuring the wise use of tax dollars.
According to investigations conducted by the House Committee on Agriculture, the Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, USDA administration of conservation programs were found to be lacking the proper internal controls to prevent waste, fraud and abuse. Witnesses suggested that USDA management needs to cooperate with other government agencies to do more to ensure that duplicate and improper payments are not made.
"I hope USDA has learned from the results of these investigations and improves funding management. We have a responsibility to verify that USDA is not making improper payments, and we need NRCS and FSA to be good stewards of public money, so that in turn, we can continue to support farmers in being good stewards of the land," said Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research Subcommittee Chairman Tim Holden (D-PA).
"We owe it to our producers and landowners to make sure these programs work efficiently and effectively. USDA should be mindful of the needs and concerns of its customers in creating the administrative structures and controls for these programs," said Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research Subcommittee Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).
Written testimony provided by the witnesses is available on the Committee website: http://democrats-agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html. A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date.
Witness List
Panel I
• Mr. Robert Stephenson, Acting Deputy Administrator for Field Operations, Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
• Mr. Dave White, Acting Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Panel II
• Ms. Kathleen S. Tighe, Deputy Inspector General, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
• Ms. Lisa Shames, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, D.C.
• Mr. John Jurich, Investigator, Committee on Agriculture, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
http://democrats-agriculture.house.gov
Source: House Committee on Agriculture
