WASHINGTON – Congressman Rick Crawford, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, released the below statement today in response to the United States Department of Agriculture’s proposed closures of Farm Service Agency and Rural Development Offices. Of the 131 offices proposed for closure, 16 are in Arkansas and 3 are in the First Congressional District that Crawford represents. Proposed closures in the First Congressional District include Farm Service Agency offices in Fulton and Izard Counties and the Rural Development Office in Izard County.

“Farm Service Agency and Rural Development Offices have provided critical support to Arkansas families for generations. The Obama Administration cannot hope to cure all our budget woes on the backs of rural Americans. All of Washington must do more with less. However, with one in ten proposed closures coming from Arkansas, we cannot sit back and let national bureaucrats harm our state’s rural communities. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I look forward to working with the citizens of Fulton and Izard Counties to make the case for keeping their facilities open.”

The Agriculture Department plans to close 16 USDA and
Rural Development Offices in Arkansas