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US Senator Requests Inquiry In USDA Office Closings

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United States Senator Sherrod Brown says he wants more explanation for why USDA offices in Ohio are on the chopping block.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced earlier this month, in an effort to save taxpayer dollars, 10 Farm Service Agency offices will close.

The offices are located in Carroll, Clark, Coshocton, Franklin, Hamilton, Meigs, Montgomery, Perry, and Wood counties.

Brown says he has some concerns over the matter and sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.  In the letter, Brown requests the following information for each of the offices: the reasoning behind the closing of the office; how services to Ohioans will be maintained; ramifications for current USDA personnel; and how the USDA's process will follow the processes required to close an office.

The proposed closings are a part of the USDA's Blueprint for Stronger Service and is based on President Obama's Administration's Campaign to Cut Waste. 
 
FSA will hold public meetings for each county being affected by the changes. In Meigs County, the meeting is set for January 24 at the Community Center Gymnasium in Syracuse.  The Perry County meeting will be at the American Legion Post 58 in Somerset on January 26.