Lugar Pushes Agriculture Dept. Cuts; Senator Sees Madigan Averse to Closing State Offices in Election Year
Agriculture Department officials at the state level have recommended closing hundreds of nonessential field offices, but Agriculture Secretary Edward R. Madigan appears reluctant to take action in an election year, Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) said yesterday.</br></br>Madigan denied he was "trying to duck it," but insisted that a thorough review of USDA field operations was necessary in order to determine where to make cuts. "I'm sure we can close a lot of offices," Madigan said.</br></br>Lugar, however, questioned whether the decision by Madigan and Office of Management and Budget Director Richard G. Darman to conduct a comprehensive "SWAT team" study of USDA field operations was simply a mechanism to shunt structural reform into bureaucratic limbo.</br></br>"We're on hold while these rather large studies proceed," Lugar told a news conference. "We can wait six months down the trail, but it seems apparent that certain changes can be made now."</br></br>In another critical look at USDA yesterday, the House Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs subcommittee on housing and community development sharply questioned department officials about developers' improperly exploiting a USDA-administered loan program that builds and administers rental housing for the rural poor.