[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 40 (Monday, October 10, 1994)]
[Pages 1931-1932]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Resignation of Mike Espy as Secretary of Agriculture

October 3, 1994

    I have accepted with regret Secretary Mike Espy's offer to resign 
effective December 31, 1994. This decision will permit me to name a 
successor efficiently. It will facilitate the work of the Department, 
and it will enable Secretary Espy to leave his post with an outstanding 
record of accomplishment that will outlast the uncertainty that exists 
today.
    Secretary Espy has been a relentless champion for American farmers 
and consumers. Because of his leadership, legislation enabling USDA to 
reinvent its management and modernize the services it provides farmers 
and farm communities is nearing completion in Congress. When lives and 
livelihoods were threatened by natural disasters in rural communities, 
Mike Espy was our steward for relief efforts. As Agriculture Secretary, 
he was an advocate for ensuring that people who were hungry in an 
abundant America were fed by the food we grow here. He fought for 
agriculture exports, the environment, and for a Department that was 
service-friendly to farmers and taxpayers. In these duties and others, 
he served well.
    Over the last few weeks, however, the Office of the White House 
Counsel has reviewed information about Secretary Espy

[[Page 1932]]

and the actions he took while in office. Although Secretary Espy has 
said he has done nothing wrong, I am troubled by the appearance of some 
of these incidents and believe his decision to leave is appropriate. 
During the remainder of his tenure, Secretary Espy will recuse himself 
from meat and poultry inspection issues. And I have asked Judge Abner 
Mikva, the White House Counsel, to continue his review of the Espy case 
until that review is complete.