Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Addresses BARC Employees

March 21, 2012

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack visited the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultrual Research Center on March 21, 2012 to hold an "Ask the Secretary" session with USDA employees.

He discussed announced USDA's "Blueprint for Stronger Service": The Blueprint for Stronger Service aims to build a modern and efficient service organization that is closely timed with technological innovations - and is better suited to respond to 21st century agricultural and rural challenges.

In Addition, the Administrative Solutions Project (ASP) has resulted in 133 recommendations that affirm processes already in place, as well as 27 initial improvements, and other, longer-term improvements. Goals of the ASP include:

• Eliminating redundancy and improving efficiency in administrative operations;
• Leveraging existing resources and partnerships already established across agencies;
• Creating opportunities to improve administrative service delivery; and
• Strengthening USDA for future generations

Following a brief presentation, Secretary Vilsack opened up the floor for questions on any topic from the audience.