Press Releases

Today, Rep. Jodey Arrington (TX-19) released a letter to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue, calling on his agency to reexamine and update their Pandemic Standard Operating Procedures and safely reopen all their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. 

These offices are critical to our hardworking agricultural producers, providing access to vital programs like the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) and the Wildfire Hurricane Indemnity Program (WHIP+). Their continued closures have caused frustrating and worrisome delays for those seeking the help they need.

From the letter:

“While federal reopening regulations were necessary during the early stages of the pandemic, they now effectively prohibit necessary entities from physically reopening and processing vitally important applications for relief programs. Our local FSA offices need flexibility to open and allow our patient agriculture producers access to vital resources.

“Ensuring the health and safety of employees is important, we must find a way for these offices to open safely for the sake of our nation’s farmers and ranchers.”

For the full letter, please click here.