There is certainly a great deal of uncertainty and unpredictability impacting the job security of federal employees in light of the Trump administration's attempts to dramatically reduce the size of the federal government and terminate tens of thousands of jobs. While I am not sure how many and which jobs at the Department of Agriculture will be impacted, it is certain that USDA will not be spared.
As a former secretary, I know that Secretary Rollins will experience the depth and importance of the various mission areas of the department, and she also did a good job in her confirmation hearings in identifying the multiple challenges and opportunities she and her team will face.
I know from my own experience that many of USDA's functions and workforce directly affect the lives and safety of millions of Americans, and I want to identify some of those and how they depend on a talented and professional workforce to get the job done.
The largest part of USDA in terms of employees is the U.S. Forest Service. As we have seen in the recent Southern California fires, a big chunk of Forest Service employees either fight fires directly or manage the Forest Service public lands, often in cooperation with other federal, state, and local agencies, to prevent fires in the first place. These firefighters save lives every day. Notwithstanding the number of employees there, the public and Congress will always demand the resources to prevent and fight the fires.
Meat and poultry inspections to secure a safe food supply have been a key USDA function for over 100 years, since Upton Sinclair wrote his famous book "The Jungle," identifying unsafe conditions in the nation's meat packing plants. USDA employees work to prevent food-borne illnesses like E. coli, salmonella, and listeria, which impact thousands of Americans each year who often get seriously ill and can die. The public will expect to be protected here.
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The nation is now confronting an epidemic of bird flu, and USDA staff is working to contain this and other animal diseases that have the potential of spreading to animals beyond poultry, and to humans as well. This also is beginning to impact the price of eggs and other farm commodities which could have a direct economic impact on American farmers and ranchers.
Globally, we are facing a whole litany of animal and plant diseases, many of which could create catastrophic havoc on our food supply and also Impact public health; diseases like Ebola, wheat rust, and others affecting row crops feeding billions of people.
USDA's research laboratories work on these issues every day to protect American consumers and production agriculture in a most professional way. The USDA research establishment, working collaboratively with the university land grant system, is in large part responsible for our transformational achievements in food safety, farm productivity, nutrition, and so many other areas, buttressed by some of the finest scientists in the world.
There are many other parts of USDA that deserve praise and also do very important work for farmers and consumers, such as conservation, nutrition and food security, and rural development.
None of this means that USDA should remain exempt from serious evaluation to enhance efficiencies. There is probably a lot of work that can be done to make the department more efficient. It is only meant to demonstrate that so many of the department employees keep the public safe and healthy and keep our farmers thriving.
Rather than indiscriminate cuts across all USDA agencies, what should be considered is allowing a reasonable time for the USDA team to work towards personnel changes and reductions and empowering the secretary to achieve those reductions. Then, they can protect those positions most important to protecting human and animal health, our natural resources, servicing farmers, and providing food assistance to those most in need.
I wish Secretary Rollins and her team the best of luck in dealing with all of these challenges. And opportunities.
Dan Glickman was secretary of agriculture from 1995 to 2001.
