Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding the USDA Inspector General’s findings that the backlog of civil complaints continues to grow at the Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR). The senators noted that processing time for program complaints has consistently increased over several different administrations following years of OASCR’s failing to process civil rights complaints in a timely manner.
“In testimony before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations, Ms. Fong said that the Inspector General’s most recent audit from 2021 found comparable shortcomings previously identified in a 2012 audit and a 2008 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The 2012 audit found that the office ‘needed to strengthen its procedures for settlement agreements so that it could support its decisions, process cases timely, and report them accurately,’” the senators wrote.
“When faced with lengthy wait times for resolutions of complaints, individuals may be discouraged from coming forward,” the senators continued.
Therefore, Grassley and Luján ask the USDA for an update on their efforts to remedy processing delays. Specifically, they ask the USDA to commit to a 180-day processing timeline and for more details on their plan of action moving forward.
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