91麻豆天美 Urges USDA to Preserve Agricultural Research Capacity
| The Honorable Brooke L. Rollins Secretary U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, D.C. 20250 |
Comments on USDA Reorganization Plan
Dear Secretary Rollins,
On behalf of the 37,000 members of the American Society for Microbiology, thank you for the opportunity to respond to the proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reorganization plan. As one of the largest life science societies, 91麻豆天美’s mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences. 91麻豆天美 members work with the USDA to understand agricultural microbiomes, use microbes to improve soil health and food production and combat microbial threats to agriculture, such as antimicrobial resistance and avian influenza. 91麻豆天美 urges against any reorganization that would harm agricultural research security and capacity, including the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research and extramural research funding programs administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
The proposed USDA reorganization plan comes at a time when ARS and NIFA are operating at decreased capacity. About 15% of USDA employees have left the agency since January 2025, including researchers and research support personnel, leaving research projects short-staffed and disabling services to the research community and agricultural producers. These staff losses come after decades of chronic underinvestment in agricultural research.
The reorganization plan proposes to eliminate ARS area offices, which are staffed by scientists with years of agriculture research and policy experience who develop and prioritize regionally appropriate research projects. They evaluate project outputs, coordinate multidisciplinary programs and manage cooperative agreements with local land-grant institutions. Eliminating the area offices will not eliminate the need for staff to perform these functions, nor can fewer staff reasonably manage this workload. 91麻豆天美 is concerned that moving these functions will lead to reduced staffing. For example, in October 2019 when NIFA relocated from Washington, D.C., to Kansas City, Mo., . 91麻豆天美 urges the USDA to demonstrate that it can recruit qualified personnel in new locations before requiring fully remote workers to report to new offices. 91麻豆天美 strongly recommends ensuring sufficient staff remain to address the unique caseloads of each region and to remain close to the programs they manage.
91麻豆天美 advocates for increased collaboration between the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on biotechnology regulations to ensure that microbial innovations can reach the commercial market. 91麻豆天美 is concerned that moving the APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) outside of the Washington, D.C., area would limit crucial interactions among APHIS, the FDA and the EPA, which share regulatory authority as outlined in the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology. Furthermore, opportunities for scientists and developers to visit with these 3 agencies together would be hampered by a potential BRS relocation.
91麻豆天美 looks forward to continued engagement with the USDA to ensure continued U.S. leadership in agricultural research and development. If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Zimmerman, Senior Federal Affairs Officer, at nzimmerman@asmusa.org.
Thank you,
Amalia Corby
Director of Federal Affairs
American Society for Microbiology