"Significant Deficiencies" Found

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Congressional Press Releases

October 22, 2008 Wednesday

PRESS RELEASE

967 words

GAO REPORT AGAIN FINDS "SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCIES" IN CIVIL RIGHTS AT USDA

CHARLES GRASSLEY, SENATOR, SENATE

For Immediate Release

GAO Report Again Finds "Significant Deficiencies" In Civil Rights At USDA

Contact: Jennifer Mullin 202-224-3254

October 22, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A report released today by the independent investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), says that the civil rights efforts overseen by Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are marked by "significant deficiencies" and recommends new accountability structures to correct ongoing failures.

Specifically, GAO found that USDA fails to track and adjudicate civil rights complaints, fails to provide accurate data regarding minority participation in USDA programs, and fails to adequately undertake strategic planning with respect to civil rights. The report was conducted at the request of U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and U.S. Representatives Joe Baca (D-CA) and Edolphus Towns (D-NY). The lawmakers asked the GAO to focus especially on the performance of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, a position created in the 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act and tasked with directing civil rights efforts across USDA.

Earlier this year, the lawmakers protested directly to USDA when reports surfaced that the Department obstructed and temporarily shut down the GAO investigation. According to GAO, USDA officials delayed providing information and, in some cases, instructed USDA employees not to comply with GAO.

"I am disheartened to learn that, despite Congressional direction, USDA continues to fail in its civil rights performance," said Harkin. "And even more disappointed by USDA's rejection of key recommendations offered by GAO. It's time for a new approach on this issue, and I'm grateful to GAO for providing a set of specific recommendations for the consideration of the committee."

"More of the same from USDA in the area of civil rights is not acceptable," Grassley said. "The new report from GAO validates and even expands what other assessments have found about decades- long problems. The leadership of the Department of Agriculture needs to make the GAO recommendations a priority and do everything in the agency's power to make measureable improvements to the way it handles civil rights issues."

"After we held hearings on this matter in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Congress created the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the USDA and tasked that position with resolving long standing discrimination concerns. In 2006 we asked the GAO to provide us with an objective analysis. The findings of this report are troubling. After six years, improvements still have not been good enough," Lugar said.

USDA has a long history of failing to enforce civil rights laws and to ensure that minority farmers and ranchers are able to access assistance and benefits under USDA programs. In the 2002 farm bill, Congress included several initiatives to strengthen civil rights enforcement and to assist minority farmers and ranchers. First, to create new accountability for civil rights compliance across USDA programs and offices, Congress created the position of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, tasked by statute with "ensuring compliance with all civil rights and related laws....coordinating administration of civil rights laws within the Department....and ensuring that necessary and appropriate civil rights components are properly integrated into all strategic initiatives of the Department and agencies of the Department (7 U.S.C. 6918(d))." Second, to track progress over time, Congress also required the Department of Agriculture to report annually on the participation rate of minority farmers and ranchers in Department of Agriculture Programs.

To determine whether, as a result of this legislation, the Department of Agriculture has improved its civil rights performance, Senators Harkin, Lugar, and Grassley, as well as Representatives Baca and Towns, asked GAO to investigate USDA civil rights actions since the 2002 farm bill, including the actions of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in 1) resolving discrimination complaints, 2) reporting on minority participation in USDA programs and, 3) strategic planning for ensuring USDA's services and benefits are provided fairly and equitably.

A copy of the GAO report is available by clicking here <http://harkin.senate.gov/documents/pdf/GAOReportUSDA.pdf> .

Key GAO Findings

-- The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights has not achieved its goal of preventing backlogs of pending civil rights complaints, with some complaints still pending from the early 2000s. In addition, GAO found that progress report from the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights regarding the extent of and resolution of complaints have been inconsistent.

-- The reports published by the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, required by law, regarding minority participation in USDA programs are unreliable and of limited usefulness. Furthermore, USDA has not taken the steps necessary to improve the reliability of the data.

-- The strategic planning of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights has not included the necessary steps to "provide fair and equitable services to all customers and uphold the civil rights of its employees."

To remedy the lack of civil rights compliance at USDA, GAO recommended three possible actions.

-- A statutory performance agreement containing measurable goals and expectations in key performance areas.

-- An independent and empowered civil rights oversight board tasked with approving, monitoring, and evaluating USDA civil rights activities.

-- An effective ombudsperson, "independent, impartial, and fully capable of conducting
meaningful investigations of USDA actions."

October 22, 2008