County Office Closings
                                              Release No. 0069.97
Statement

                                by
               Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
                    on County Office Closings
                        February 28, 1997

     "There has been a great deal of concern and confusion expressed about
recent reports of imminent Farm Service Agency (FSA) office closings.  As I
have stated previously, I have not approved the closure of any FSA office or
any plan to do so.

     "I also want to repeat that reports about planning and information
requests concerning potential office closures were just that -- preliminary
contingency planning.

     "Nothing has been decided nor is decided, and no office nor plan to
close offices, will be official departmental policy until I expressly
approve it. Furthermore, no office closings or restructuring will take place
without appropriate consultations with Congress. 

     "FSA and our other program delivery agencies--Rural Development and
Natural Resources Conservation Service, specifically--face a different
future today than they did one year ago.  The 1996 Farm Bill dramatically
changed the landscape decreasing the workload for some while increasing it
for other agencies.  In addition, the budget we are currently operating
under and the one the Administration has proposed for fiscal years 1998
through 2002 calls for further streamlining of the Department, and the
development of a plan to meet those objectives.  

     "As we develop the parameter of that plan, we will ensure that it
looks across the entire field delivery system, not just FSA; that it factors
in future workload requirements; that it adequately takes into account
technological advances that improve the delivery of our programs and,
importantly, that we work with those concerned about maintaining the
effectiveness of our delivery system."

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