WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) sent a
letter
to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding the
USDA Inspector General’s findings that the backlog of civil complaints
continues to grow at the Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
(OASCR). The senators noted that processing time for program complaints has
consistently increased over several different administrations following years
of OASCR’s failing to process civil rights complaints in a timely manner.
“In testimony before the House
Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations, Ms.
Fong said that the Inspector General’s most recent audit from 2021 found
comparable shortcomings previously identified in a 2012 audit and a 2008 report
from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The 2012 audit found that the
office ‘needed to strengthen its procedures for settlement agreements so that
it could support its decisions, process cases timely, and report them
accurately,’” the senators wrote.
“When faced with lengthy wait times for
resolutions of complaints, individuals may be discouraged from coming forward,”
the senators continued.
Therefore, Grassley and Luján ask the
USDA for an update on their efforts to remedy processing delays. Specifically,
they ask the USDA to commit to a 180-day processing timeline and for more
details on their plan of action moving forward.
Read the full letter by clicking
HERE.
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