Senator Pryor's statement on closing USDA office in Arkansas

Senator Mark Pryor today made the following statement in response to the USDA’s decision to close several USDA and Farm Service Agencies across the country, including 16 in Arkansas. The National Resource Conservation Service in Pulaski County has been slated for closure, as well as 5 Rural Development offices (Izard, Faulkner, Hot Spring, White and Sevier Counties) and 10 Farm Service Agencies (Bradley, Fulton, Garland, Izard, Johnson, Lafayette, Logan, Benton, Pulaski, and Faulkner Counties).

There is no question that each and every USDA office in Arkansas provides a valuable service to its community, and I am concerned about another attempt to balance the budget on the back of rural America. I will work to ensure that the USDA’s criteria for closures is clear and that communities have a fair opportunity to voice their needs and rationale for keeping these facilities open.