Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 3171 - Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act

(House)
(de la Garza (D) TX and 19 others)

The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 3171, which represents a substantial step forward in providing the authorities needed- by the Secretary of Agriculture to streamline the Department and achieve both the improved service and the budget savings proposed by the Administration. The Administration looks forward to working with both the House and Senate to resolve outstanding issues.

While we support the bill, we oppose Section 804 as reported by the House Committee on Agriculture. It requires risk/benefit analyses to be conducted by a newly created Office of Environmental Risk Assessment. Establishing, such an Office is not necessary to achieve the objective of improving regulatory analyses in the Department. Section 804 would impose requirements that are open-ended, and, in many instances, would delay and would not likely improve policy decisions. The creation of this new bureaucratic structure is also contrary to the thrust of the Administration's reorganization proposals and the bill's overall intent to streamline the Department.