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would be qualified for these jobs. Then they have to go through the 

 FBI check, they have to go through the vetting process, and they 

 have to pass the veto power of the President himself. 



So it may be just awhile before we finish that, but I hope you 

 will be pleased. I am consulting with members of this committee 

 with regard to those folks we have put forward. 



Mr. Brown. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. That is encouraging, but 

 changing a large bureaucracy, even when you start at the top, can 

 be difficult. We wish you well in making those changes all through 

 the organization. 



I have just one additional question. 



The impact of reducing personnel and offices around the country 

 of the Department of Agriculture can be serious. On the other 

 hand, it can be compensated by the adoption of modern technology. 

 For example, there is no reason in the world why every county in 

 the United States can't be connected through regional hubs or 

 State hubs directly to your office through a video conferencing ca- 

 pabilities in which you can almost sit face-to-face with somebody 

 out in a rural county and discuss their problems with them. 



That capability is quite feasible today. We would like every 

 agency of the Government, as a matter of fact — some of them al- 

 ready do — to recognize that they can achieve great efficiencies — 

 and we can in the Congress — by using modern technology in ways 

 we haven't done so before. 



I want to just ask you if you may have given some thought to 

 that as you look at restructuring the personnel and the offices of 

 the Department of Agriculture. 



Secretary Espy. We have certainly done that, Mr. Brown. When 

 we get to the restructuring concept for the local offices, I hope I 

 will be ready to also present to this committee a concept of farm 

 simplification which is going to rest in a large way on increasing 

 the technology and computer capabilities of these local offices. We 

 can collocate; we can combine; we can do a lot of these things that 

 are now within the public domain. We can make farmers comput- 

 er-literate. 



We also have an idea of enhancing the Extension Service and 

 make them computer-literate. 



So the construction of these farm plans can be input into the 

 computer and the farmer won't have to stand in line at the local 

 office forever. A lot of this would be in the computer base. 



I would like to go back and add to something I said earlier. 



Some are frustrated that they have not seen good people behind 

 their desks over at USDA. Let me tell you that it is a huge agency. 

 We have been there 13 days. Events are moving rapidly. I want to 

 take my time and carefully select the best men and women to 

 occupy these positions. 



But we have a significant challenge. Here I am telling you that I 

 am going to restructure Washington, and some of these offices may 

 no longer exist. Some of these assistant secretaries structured on 

 this piece of paper will be obliterated. So I wanted to be faithful. I 

 want to in good faith conduct these interviews and not interview 

 someone for a job that may not exist or be merged with another 

 one. 



