40 



Mr. Volkmer. Thank you very much. 



Mike, I, too, wish to add my congratulations to everybody else 

 and wish you well. I know that your time is very pressed right 

 now. 



You mentioned the electrical cooperatives in national rural elec- 

 tric and how much they can help in rural development. We have 

 an instance where that is just what has happened in my district. 



We had a coal mine that was furnishing coal for our rural elec- 

 tric generating plant. They had used Wyoming coal because of 

 clean air, et cetera. So the mine is closing down. The rural develop- 

 ment people from the University of Missouri have now set up an 

 office in that area because you have about 450 miners and it has a 

 big impact on the whole economics of the whole area. 



This is not the farm now. This is people putting together — like 

 job training, everything else — into one office and trying to work it 

 out. The funding requirements are going to be difficult. Associate 

 Electric is going to fund it for a while. 



I need to discuss that with you and perhaps with the Appropria- 

 tions Committee later on to see if we can't continue that. I see this 

 as a way that in the future we can maybe stop some of this decline 

 in rural areas. 



As you know, we have communities out there that are dying on 

 the vine. I think agriculture, which has been a mainstay in our 

 past history — we have fewer and fewer farmers and you have fewer 

 and fewer people in the communities. We need to work on that and 

 I would like to discuss that with you. 



I appreciate what you said to Dan Glickman. Would that apply 

 to my State? I don't have an ASCS State Director. We're going to 

 have sign-ups come up. I know we have good people on the staff in 

 the State office and we have good people out in the county, but we 

 would like to have a new Director overseeing it and getting it going 

 for this spring when the sign-ups come about. 



Secretary Espy. If I can meet with you after this session, then I 

 will take your ideas. 



Mr. Volkmer. I will stick around. I want to talk to you about it. 



Secretary Espy. I would be glad to. 



Mr. Volkmer. Best wishes to you. We will work with you all the 

 way. 



And I am not for moving the Forest Service over to Interior any 

 time. 



Secretary Espy. I need your help. Thank you. 



The Chairman. Mr. Barlow. 



Mr. Barlow. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 



In the interest of time you don't need to respond to these com- 

 ments, right now, Mr. Secretary. But I want to second what Mr. 

 Brown said about the video conferencing. 



I have seen this working in western Kentucky. As you may 

 know, in western Kentucky we have a network already working 

 with the colleges and the high schools. I am very interested about 

 getting this technology into the USDA offices. I think it will save 

 time and travel out there in the western end of the State. When 

 people have to go to Lexington and Frankfort from the Federal of- 

 fices they are gone for 1 or 2 days for a meeting. I think this can 

 save time and budget. 



