Grassley said that he and Sen. Bob Bennett, of Utah, worked on language in the bill which allows the Secretary of Agriculture to utilize any available discretionary funds to cover the costs of preparing or contracting for the preparation of final agency decisions regarding complaints of discrimination in employment or program activities.
"I've been working a long time to make sure the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Agriculture has the necessary tools to effectively help underserved farmers and disadvantaged USDA employees. This language should give the Secretary the discretion to use available funds to address the backlog of complaints against the Department," Grassley said. "I'm thankful Sen. Bennett and I could work together to make this happen."
Grassley and Bennett also addressed the government issued credit card abuse that has recently been found at the Department of Agriculture. The two Senators entered into a dialogue that encouraged the Department to remedy the credit card problems. If no immediate action is taken, Grassley and Bennett indicated that they will work on a legislative fix.
"Government issued credit cards are not meant to be an open line of credit for employees. The Agriculture Department has been operating under outdated or non-existent internal controls that do nothing more than provide lip service to the concept of accountability," Grassley said. "I hope the Department can provide the type of guidelines that will bring this rampant abuse under control before we have to provide a fix for them."