The Trump administration's efforts to reshape the federal government reminds me of watching a rocket launch. It's all systems go to right-size and consolidate what the president calls a bloated bureaucracy. But the recent proposal to reorganize the United States Department of Agriculture is sounding alarms even before the countdown starts.
Concerns immediately surfaced when Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins made the surprise announcement about the plan in July, keeping lawmakers, the ag industry and others in the dark. Her office insisted it was out of concern for the agency's workforce, but officials said they wanted employees to hear the news first directly from the secretary, "not from a leak that originated from somewhere else," noted Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden, testifying before the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
The proposal calls for relocating some 2,600 of the 4,600 Washington-based positions to five regional hubs: Fort Collins, Colorado; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Salt Lake City. USDA will also consolidate operations and close one of its headquarters buildings, as well as three additional offices in the D.C. area, including the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), in Maryland. The reorganization is expected to save about $4 billion.
As a taxpayer, I fully support efforts to make the federal government work better, smarter and more efficient. But is the call for such a massive overhaul in the best interest of American agriculture? I think not, and here's why.
-- Brain drain. USDA has already seen 15,000 departures from its ranks through deferred resignations and early retirements. Many were seasoned employees with invaluable expertise and talent. The proposal will likely accelerate the departure of experienced, knowledgeable workers. Employees who remain will be required to do more with less. Many will be less experienced, further eroding the agency's ability to help those it's supposed to serve.