Department of Agriculture

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97

EXECUTIVE BRANCH:

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington,DC 20250

Phone, 202–720–4623. Internet, http://www.usda.gov.

Secretary of Agriculture THOMAS J. VILSACK

Deputy Secretary KATHLEEN MERRIGAN

Director, Off‌ice of Communications MATT PAUL

Inspector General PHYLLIS K. FONG

General Counsel RAMONA ROMERO

Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations KRYSTA HARDEN

Assistant Secretary for Administration BRIAN BAENIG

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights JOE LEONARD

Chief Information Off‌icer CHRIS SMITH

Chief Financial Off‌icer JON HOLLADAY, Acting

Chief Economist JOSEPH GLAUBER

Under Secretary for Natural Resources and

Environment

HARRIS SHERMAN

Chief, Forest Service THOMAS TIDWELL

Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service DAVID WHITE

Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign

Agricultural Services

MICHAEL SCUSE

Administrator, Farm Service Agency BRUCE NELSON

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service SUZANNE HEINEN, Acting

Administrator, Risk Management Agency WILLIAM MURPHY

Under Secretary for Rural Development DALLAS TONSAGER

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative

Service

JUDY CANALES

Administrator, Rural Housing Service TAMMYE TREVINO

Administrator, Rural Utilities Service JONATHAN ADELSTEIN

Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and

Consumer Services

KEVIN CONCANNON

Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service AUDREY ROWE

Director, Center for Nutrition Policy and

Promotion

RAJ ANAND

Under Secretary for Food Safety ELIZABETH A. HAGEN

Administrator, Food Safety and Inspection

Service

ALFRED V. ALMANZA

Under Secretary for Research, Education, and

Economics

CATHY WOTEKI

Administrator, Agricultural Research Service EDWARD B. KNIPLING

98 U.S. GOVERNMENT MANUAL

Director, National Institute of Food and

Agriculture

CHAVONDA JACOBS-YOUNG, Acting

Administrator, Economic Research Service SARAHELEN THOMPSON, Acting

Director, National Agricultural Library SIMON Y. LIN

Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics

Service

CYNTHIA CLARK

Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory

Programs

EDWARD M. AVALOS

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service DAVID SHIPMAN

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service

GREGORY PARHAM

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers, and

Stockyards Administration

J. DUDLEY BUTLER

Chief Judge, Administrative Law Judges PETER DAVENPORT

[For the Department of Agriculture statement of organization, see the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Part

2]

The Department of Agriculture provides leadership on food, agricultural, and

environmental issues by developing agricultural markets, f‌ighting hunger and

malnutrition, conserving natural resources, and ensuring standards of food quality

through safeguards and inspections.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA)

was created by act of May 15, 1862 (7

U.S.C. 2201).

In carrying out its work in the program

mission areas, USDA relies on the

support of departmental administration

staff, as well as the Off‌ice of the

Chief Financial Off‌icer, Off‌ice of the

Chief Information Off‌icer, Off‌ice of

Communications, Off‌ice of Congressional

and Intergovernmental Relations, Off‌ice

of the Inspector General, and the Off‌ice

of the General Counsel.

Rural Development

USDA’s rural development mission is to

increase the economic opportunities of

rural Americans and improve their quality

of life. To accomplish this, USDA works

to foster new cooperative relationships

among Government, industry, and

communities. As a capital investment

bank, USDA provides f‌inancing for

rural housing and community facilities,

business and cooperative development,

telephone and high-speed Internet

access, electric, water, and sewer

infrastructure. Approximately 800 rural

development f‌ield off‌ices, staffed by

7,000 employees, provide frontline

delivery of rural development loan and

grant programs at the local level.

Rural Business-Cooperative Programs

To meet business credit needs in

underserved areas, USDA rural

development business programs are

usually leveraged with commercial,

cooperative, or other private sector

lenders. USDA’s rural development

business programs are listed below.

Business and Industry Guaranteed

Loans This program generates jobs and

stimulates rural economies by providing

f‌inancial backing for rural businesses.

Loan proceeds may be used for working

capital, machinery and equipment,

buildings and real estate, and certain

types of debt ref‌inancing.

Business Enterprise These grants help

public bodies, nonprof‌it corporations,

and federally recognized Indian

tribal groups f‌inance and facilitate

development of small and emerging

private business enterprises located in

rural areas. Grant funds can pay for

the acquisition and development of

land and the construction of buildings,

plants, equipment, access streets and

roads, parking areas, utility and service

extensions, ref‌inancing, and fees for

professional services, as well as technical

assistance and related training, startup

costs and working capital, f‌inancial

assistance to a third party, production

of television programs targeted to rural