Agency Recovery Plan

Last updated: 2009-05-15

• Number of Programs:24
  

Program Plans

Broad Recovery Goals

USDA will move quickly to respond to current economic conditions by preserving and creating high quality jobs, spurring rural economic activity, and contributing to the Nation's overall financial health.

USDA will be open and transparent, responsive and accountable to the American people as we deliver Recovery Act funding.

USDA will use Recovery Act funding to:

combat hunger and improve the nutrition and health of children, individuals and families; rebuild the infrastructure of rural communities; provide decent housing opportunities in rural areas; ensure that individuals and companies in rural areas have access to the latest in technology through expanded broadband; provide farmers funds to operate, and mitigate losses that occur when natural disasters cause a catastrophic loss of crop production or prevent planting; reduce the risk of wildfires, improve forest health, and maintain forest roads and facilities; rehabilitate aging flood control structures and improve water quality, increase water supply, decrease soil erosion, and improve fish and wildlife habitat; and meet critical maintenance needs of USDA facilities.

Competition on Contracts

USDA will maximize competition wherever practical for Recovery Act funded projects. Note that 97 percent of Recovery Act funding provided to the Department will not be delivered through contracts. They instead will be delivered through formula grants and other grants, loans, and cooperative agreements. Of the funds for contracts in the Recovery Act, USDA projects that 94% of anticipated Recovery Act dollars will be competitively awarded. This percentage is based on agency experience in implementing similar non-Recovery Act programs.

Contract Type

USDA will maximize the use of fixed-priced contracts wherever practical for Recovery Act funded projects. Note that 97 percent of Recovery Act funding provided to the Department will not be delivered through contracts. They instead will be delivered through formula grants and other grants, loans, and cooperative agreements. Of the funds available for contracts in the Recovery Act, USDA projects that 93% of anticipated Recovery Act dollars will be awarded as fixed-price contracts. This percentage is based on agency experience in implementing similar non-Recovery Act programs.

Accountability Plan

At the Department level, the Secretary has appointed the Deputy Chief of Staff as the Department’s Senior Accountable Official. In order to ensure appropriate coordination for implementation of the $28 billion provided to USDA in the Recovery Act, the Senior Accountable Official established the Department of Agriculture Recovery Team (DART). Membership of the DART is comprised of representatives from the Office of the Secretary, each agency that received Recovery Act funding, OIG, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, and the Office of Budget and Program Analysis. The DART meets regularly. The DART provides a forum for agencies to identify best practices and share lessons learned, identify and resolve implementation issues, and provides an opportunity for the Senior Accountable Official to ensure there are no unnecessary delays in implementation.

Within agencies, agency managers are responsible for implementing, improving, and monitoring program activities. The Recovery Act provides funding for existing USDA programs. As a result no significant additions to agency structure or processes are needed for implementation and monitoring. Individual performance plans of managers and employees are tied to their agency mission and goals. Program performance measures, including civil rights compliance, are integrated into managerial performance plans and will be collected on a routine basis. Reports of progress in meeting the performance measures will be provided in timely reports within agencies and will allow for accountability discussions with managers. Monitoring will be done on a frequency that will allow implementation of corrective action as necessary.

Data will be collected from financial systems and IT performance management and monitoring systems. USDA expects to report these metrics on a quarterly basis, but some high priority items may be updated monthly. Data will be collected and reported in accordance with the specified requirements in the Recovery Act reporting guidance.

USDA has established its own website which will report additional information on the Agency’s success in Recovery Act related matters: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/?navid=USDA_ARRA The Forest Service, the Farm Service Agency, the Foreign Agricultural Service, the Food Nutrition Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Rural Development, and OIG have established their own websites which are linked to the USDA Recovery Act website. In addition, USDA has created a Geo-spatial map that allows the public to search and review Recovery Act projects: http://www.usda.gov/recovery/map/




Source: Data provided by the Agency through the Office of Management and Budget.