Remarks by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman USDA Employees Gathering Kansas City, MO June 8, 1999 Release No. 0244.99 Remarks As Prepared for Delivery by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman USDA Employees Gathering Kansas City, MO June 8, 1999 "Thank you Tom. Tom's only been with us in Washington for a short time, but he hit the ground running. He was a terrific and dedicated SED and I'm very glad to have him at headquarters, especially now when understanding what is going on out in the field is even more critical to the decisions we make. "Ladies and gentlemen of USDA, it's an honor and a privilege to be here today. I've been looking forward to this opportunity to talk to some of the women and men who, in your work, help improve the lives of so many Americans. "I came here today to salute you and all the men and women in all of our field offices around the country. Thousands of farmers and ranchers will be able to stay on their land because of the work you have done over the last several months. You are a good part of the reason that every one of the 90,000 plus USDA employees around the world, regardless of their specialty, can hold their heads up proudly and say, 'We helped farmers in their time of need." "I know your achievement wasn't easy. I know it required great sacrifice, dedication and, frankly, some very long hours to get the job done. There were loads of overtime, canceled vacations, short lunches and long nights away from your families. "Here in K.C. the work you do is not just about systems and software, payment schedules and planting data. It's about helping people survive and ultimately to thrive. "The work of every USDA worker in every office around the country is part of contributing to the betterment of your respective communities -- neighbors helping neighbors. Here and around the nation, you rose to the occasion brilliantly, and it wasn't just for the job, it was to help other families in crisis -- and for that you have my deepest gratitude. "And I want to add that folks from the Office of the Inspector General worked hard to ensure against fraud and that the help we provided farmers was getting to those who really needed it. "You know I'm one of those people who don't require a lot of sleep. I go to bed late, rise early, spend a lot of time reading, but when I heard about the upload on May 5th, and how so many employees, here and in county offices, were up 'till all hours -- 2, 3, 4, 5 a.m. getting "cinco de mayo'ed" -- as part of the effort to meet my June deadline for the disaster program, I was impressed. Congratulations -- you not only met the deadline, you beat it. I think you should give yourselves and each other a well-deserved round of applause. "What few people outside of USDA realize is that, to get the disaster relief payments to farmers, your efforts and those of county employees from around the country came on top of an already enormous work load on a host of critical programs. "Back in March I was asked to testify before Congress on USDA's progress in getting disaster payments to farmers. Senators and Congressmen had lots of questions, and rightfully so. For 18 years I was one of them, so I appreciate their concern that agencies like USDA are serving the needs of the people in a manner that Congress and the President intended. "The very nature of their questions belied the fact that some in Washington didn't really grasp what exactly was being asked of you. So while others might have reacted defensively to this type of inquiry, I relished it as an opportunity to paint a true picture of what was going on in the trenches. "I reminded the Committee that, as the farm crisis began, we were already cutting back on staff. Theoretically, the '96 farm bill was going to require less from our field operations, not more. Then came the Asian financial crisis and three years of record worldwide production which depressed farm prices and cut exports. Even if there was no disaster bill at all, there would have been a huge workload to contend with. There were CRP payments, AMTA payments, crop insurance indemnities and you processed over 2 million applications for loan deficiency payments for just the 1998 crop year. On top of that, loan demand was up over 65% from a year earlier, and you also helped hog farmers who saw the worst prices since the Depression. "Then came the $6 billion farm relief bill. You got income loss assistance payments going within 10 days of passage of the bill and I commend you for that. USDA employees here and around the country also had to deal with the Livestock Assistance Program, the Dairy Assistance Program and the $400 million premium incentive for crop insurance. "I told Congress how, with scaled back staffs and increased workloads, you were giving 110% and how very proud of you I was. And call it what you will -- downsizing, streamlining, consolidation -- the bottom line is USDA's employees were being asked to do more with less. "Then, I invited a program technician from one of our county offices to testify before the committee and give us all a grounds-eye-view of your work. Her presence gave a personal meaning to all the numbers and programs we talk about. She put a human face on all the work being done in the field. She helped make everyone understand the demands being placed on the workforce and what our folks were doing to meet the challenge. "The obvious benefits to all the efforts of the last 7 months are in meeting our goals to help farmers and ranchers. But there are also the unforseen rewards and how this experience affects the people who made the sacrifice. For example, I don't think it was very clear at the time, but what this disaster bill did was challenge two autonomous entities within USDA, the Farm Service Agency and the Risk Management Agency to work together to find the fairest, most efficient way to help farmers in need. "And I know it wasn't easy, but folks I have to tell you, you came through with flying colors. This morning I got a good look at what you were able to do and how you were able to pull together data so that farmers could spend more time farming and less time doing paperwork in county offices. I think your greatest challenge was enabling two vastly different computer systems to talk to each other and finding a way to transfer 3 million records and create thousands of new ones to analyze multi-year losses. This was a remarkable achievement considering that the melding of program information of this magnitude had never been attempted, much less accomplished before. And, in doing so, you paved the way for a common computing environment for all of USDA as we seek to make the entire department more efficient. "All over the country, we met challenges as a family. I was particularly heartened by a story out of Kansas and Texas. Texas was one of the states so overloaded with applications, that we flew people in from other states to help. Several county offices in Kansas responded to the call. They went down, pitched in, and helped their colleagues get through the mounds of paperwork. And of course the folks in Texas were very grateful, but before they could put pen to paper to express their gratitude, the folks from Kansas sent a note thanking the Texans for their hospitality, for the opportunity to work with them and for making their time in Texas so rewarding and unforgettable. They thanked the Texans for allowing them to help! And, they didn't say one word about the long hours or the hard work. Just how wonderful an experience it was. "I think the last seven months have shown once again that USDA is made up of a lot of extraordinary people who rose up to meet extraordinary circumstances. "I also want to thank you for your generous contributions to our gleaning and food recovery efforts. Last year, during two USDA food drives and your farmers' market, this complex collected nearly 40,000 pounds of food to help the needy in the Kansas City area. You set what some thought were unreachable goals, and then exceeded them through ingenuity and creativity. And I want to tell you how grateful I am to all USDA employees for the nearly 6 million pounds of nutritious food collected since our Summit on Food Recovery and Gleaning nearly two years ago. "Now, as we look to the future, our challenge in helping farmers and ranchers is to make sure the next time out we are better prepared. And in that respect, I think it's important to remember that the farm crisis isn't over. I'm reminded of the story John Kennedy told about the farmer who planted his corn fields then said to his neighbor, 'I hope I break even this year. I really need the money.' "Farming is difficult and unpredictable work. And as proud as we are of the longest peacetime expansion of the economy in the nation's history, of the low interest rates, low inflation, low unemployment, and record home ownership, the fact is there are those who are not riding the economic success train. Agriculture is one of the sector that has been hit hardest. While most of America is enjoying the bounty that our farmers produce, many of our farmers and ranchers are in real trouble. "In Washington we talk about the pain and hardship many farmers and ranchers are facing. But, in field offices around the country, folks in the Farm Service and Risk Management Agencies deal with this despair first hand. "It's not uncommon to hear story after story of hard working men and women who can't make ends meet and must turn in the keys to their tractors and the deeds to their land. But one thing is certain: If it wasn't for the work you and all the field personnel around the country do, there would be even more hopelessness and resignation. In fact, in some cases, you not only help save livelihoods, you help save lives. Nobody likes to talk about it, but there were some folks driven to take their own lives during this crisis. "None of us can say for certain what the future holds. That is especially true in farming. And that is all the more reason we need to be prepared. "In the near term, we expect commodity prices to remain flat. One bright spot is that recent numbers indicate that the decline in ag exports, which contributed to the crisis, has bottomed out. So, maybe we'll be turning the corner soon. But for now we've got to continue to bear down and help our farmers and ranchers as best we can. "Unfortunately there are other pressures we have to deal with. For example, depending on which version you look at, House or Senate, the current appropriations proposals in Congress would cut $600 million to $1 billion from the President's proposed budget for USDA. "Cuts of this magnitude could have serious consequences for our programs and those who depend on them programs that touch the lives of millions of people such as in farm services, conservation, research and food assistance. Such cuts could also affect USDA people. As you know, USDA has been in the forefront of government downsizing. Our workforce is 22,000 people less than it was 5 years ago a 17% cut. The fact that we've been able to continue to effectively deliver a range of services while absorbing such deep reductions is testimony to the dedication and skills of our people. "But I don't want to mislead you. It is likely that USDA will have to continue streamlining. Our own budget called for reductions in some areas. But those reductions were outlined before the total impact of the farm crisis on your workload became fully known. As with the recent supplemental appropriations bill, we will work hard to ensure we have the necessary resources to meet any additional responsibilities, such as those brought about by the farm crisis. "This Administration, and I personally, will continue to fight for America's family farmers and for you, the people who work so hard on behalf of American agriculture. "Finally, in this era where we are trying to ensure more from-the- ground-up policy in government, I want to challenge you to come up with concrete suggestions and new ideas and innovative proposals and get them up the chain of command and to Washington. I want every USDA employee to be committed to making this department a more productive and more responsive place to work. I think the experience of the last 7 months, and it's not over yet, has made USDA a more effective agency and for that we should all be grateful. But let's not rest on our success. I think we have an opportunity to build on that progress. And, as Team USDA, I believe the only limits we face are the limits we place on ourselves. Thank you. "Now, in recognition of the efforts of USDA employees around the nation, for their efforts and services truly beyond the call of duty in helping farmers and ranchers get through the farm crisis, I am presenting this plaque, a replica of which will be sent to all FSA state offices and RMA regional service centers around the country. Accepting the plaque on behalf of all employees are Bobbie Waggoner from RMA and Jerry Patterson from FSA. "Thank you and congratulations to all our employees everywhere." #