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Secretary of Agriculture, I will need your assistance on a biparti- 

 san basis, and I will need the help of the thousands of dedicated 

 employees at the Department. 



As Secretary of Agriculture, I want you and each member of this 

 committee to know that I will dedicate myself and this agency to 

 the economic health of rural America. I agree with just about ev- 

 erything that Jill Long said with regard to the health of rural 

 America. 



I want to help to provide basic services which other areas of the 

 country take for granted, including them fully in President Clin- 

 ton's strategy for economic revitalization, the encouragement of 

 capital investment, and the promotion of job growth. 



Mr. Chairman, there is a hearing right now in the other body 

 before the Banking Committee chaired by Senator Riegle. I have a 

 statement there. I had asked to appear there because there was a 

 bill that I had introduced before I left this body with regard to 

 community development banks in the rural areas of our Nation. 

 That bill has been accepted and I can say that it fit well within the 

 campaign focus of the President-Elect, at that time. I hope that bill 

 will be moving forward in that body. 



I will seek to reach out to all USDA constituents and to become 

 an honest broker for their responsible concerns inside the agency. 

 To the American farmer, and to the family farmer in particular, I 

 will dedicate myself. I will promote farm income, seek to cut un- 

 necessary regulation, streamline expenses at the local level, and 

 guard against Government-generated overhead expense. 



Mr. Roberts, we will aggressively seek out new international 

 markets and insist that our export competitors comply with trad- 

 ing rules that are fair and equitable. I will ensure that agricul- 

 ture's voice is heard on trade matters, on food safety matters, on 

 the environment, and on other areas. 



This Department is huge. It has the fourth largest budget of any 

 Federal agency, with over 14,000 offices within our country and 

 abroad. The best estimate is that there are 112,000 employees with 

 a portfolio of about $62 billion. If the Department were a bank, it 

 would rank first in U.S. loan assets above Chase Manhattan, above 

 Bank of America, and above CitiBank. 



It is a huge Agency, but one with broad and very important re- 

 sponsibilities which touch and concern almost every facet of Ameri- 

 can life. Americans need not be reminded that if they eat they are 

 involved in agriculture. Perhaps we should be reminded, that it is 

 because of our success in agricultural production that Americans 

 still enjoy an abundant supply of food and fiber for the least 

 amount of disposable income. Agriculture contributes over $900 bil- 

 lion annually to the U.S. economy and is one of the few sectors 

 that still maintains a positive balance of trade. 



There are many who question the effectiveness of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. The perception — and I hope not the reality — 

 in many quarters is that it has become an outmoded and unrespon- 

 sive bureaucracy, no longer considered farmer friendly, or interest- 

 ed in reaching out beyond the traditional farmer client base to 

 others, who also have legitimate concerns, who are the recipients of 

 other USDA programs. 



