[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 49 (Monday, December 12, 1994)]
[Page 2470]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Reorganization of the Department of Agriculture

December 6, 1994

    Today Secretary Espy announced that the Department of Agriculture is 
closing over 1,200 field offices across the country. I commend Secretary 
Espy for his leadership and outstanding efforts to make Government 
function better and more productively.
    By creating one-stop-shopping field centers that consolidate a 
multitude of services under one roof, we are showing a true commitment 
to streamline Government and to make it work better and cost less.
    When fully implemented, the changes will save about 2.5 million 
hours annually of farmers' time by slashing the paperwork burden and 
reducing other bureaucratic requirements. This streamlining, coupled 
with the overall reorganization of the Department, will save taxpayers 
$3.6 billion over 5 years and serve rural Americans with the common 
sense they deserve. The effort to restructure the USDA has been 
implemented with bipartisan support and is an example of how Democrats 
and Republicans can work together.
    I am proud of the USDA reorganization because it shows that with a 
lot of hard work, Government can be changed to do a much better job with 
fewer dollars. We are making a USDA that makes sense for the customer 
and the taxpayer. Secretary Espy should be commended for implementing 
these changes in a sensible and businesslike way.