Remarks by Dr. Gale Buchanan, USDA Under Secretary For Research, Education, and Economics, To the Joint Biennial Meeting of the Board on Human Sciences and the Council of Administrators of Family Consumer Sciences, Washington, D.C. (February 20, 2007)

I. INTRODUCTION

Thank you, Dr. Hefferan, for that kind introduction. I know that your own academic roots are in the disciplines whose leadership is represented here today. It's a special pleasure to be with you and share a few thoughts about a very important topic.

II. OPENING COMMENTS

I am pleased to join you and to encourage your partnership with us, and to celebrate the unique community you represent in the higher education system. While you are Administrators at a wide range of institutions, you are all members of the broad Human Sciences community. Your effort supports the unique interface of human interests and resources with public resources, policies, and practices.

In my role as the Undersecretary for Research Education and Economics; I am increasingly impressed with the importance of the specific disciplines you represent.

Many of the issues brought to me often require for their solutions the unique combination of the biological, physical and social sciences you represent. I recognize that you do not represent merely a collection of disciplines, but speak from a community with certain shared values and commitments.

Much of the work in the REE mission area demands the infusion of Human Sciences into questions that were once seen only as biological or physical problems of practical science.

Over the past two years a Social Science Working Group was developed within CSREES. This group is committed to exploring issues the nation faces from a broad spectrum of social sciences.

This group has actively engaged in dialogue with other federal agencies and has taken critical views of our own practices in order to enhance the relevance of our work. I know that they are improving our practices and I look forward to more dialogue with them.

I would like to explore with you about how we might partner more effectively in order to achieve the desired goals.

III. INTERESTING TIMES AND DEVELOPMENT IN D.C.

These are interesting times in Washington, D.C. as we are provided information regarding the completion of the '07 budget and the roll out the administration proposes for the next Farm Bill.

In your roles as Administrators of academic units at various institutions, the '07 budget and new Farm Bill are important and familiar themes to you. Scarce resources must be focused, the highest priority problems must receive our attention and critical formative evaluations must continually improve our performance now and in the future.

I know that you as a community are unique among academic disciplines in preparing professionals and supporting research at the individual consumer, and you have a key responsibility at the public policy levels in the prevention of chronic disease, the enhancement of health, the economic stability of families, and the development and maintenance of nurturing family relationships.

Expected outcomes include: a healthy ecosystem, a vital economy and social well-being that are fundamental to a prosperous nation. An important and impressive challenge indeed.

Several of our major initiatives in the Department could benefit from more contributions from the Human Sciences community.

Our work in renewable energy-especially biobased fuels-- can be enhanced by a more deliberate analysis of the social and economic challenges to communities and families of these new enterprises.

Our work in the prevention of an Avian Flu Pandemic and our broad commitment to Homeland Security should draw from your knowledge of all the community capitals e.g. human, cultural, social, natural, financial and political.

Already, we have relied repeatedly on the excellent resources available through the Extension Disaster Education Network-EDEN.

This includes active participation from your Extension scholars and provides many resources which have been developed in your departments and colleges.

IV. SPECIFIC ROLES FOR YOUR PROGRAMS- FOOD AND NUTRITION

Your community provides the professional training, outreach and research surrounding the largest share of the USDA budget. Well over half of USDA's budget supports domestic nutrition assistance programs including Food Stamps, School Lunch, and the WIC program. Farm programs account for a little 25 percent, and the remaining 20 percent includes a wide variety of activities including conservation, rural development, research and food safety, regulatory, etc.

As a community in the Land-Grant University System, approximately $125 million of Food Stamp nutrition funds are matched by your institutions at the state and county levels, in order to implement the majority of nutrition education programs to Food Stamp recipients across the country.

I am well aware that the oldest nutrition education safety net for low income families, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program (EFNEP) is managed through your academic units. This program has been in place for 37 years.

As a former Dean and Director of Cooperative Extension, I've seen first hand the success of this program.

The Food Stamp Nutrition Education programs are building on EFNEP learning and the remarkable contributions your academic units make to these programs. This is accomplished through the training of the paraprofessionals and the evaluation of the impact of a variety of models of nutrition education.

In addition, the placement of graduate students who complete evaluation and research studies on EFNEP and Food Stamp Nutrition Education, and help ensure the continued success of these programs.

I'm delighted to learn that a multistate research project, NCDC 211 has recently been established to conduct research on critical issues in EFNEP. I understand they are still recruiting a diverse group of social scientists. The research practitioners in this group will pose critical questions to enhance the impact of this program.

In addition, such findings will be available to increase the impact of future Food Nutrition and Education.

We would like to see more integration of resources in addressing these problems. My staff and I would like to explore with you about some opportunities I see in the coming months.

Support for Programs in Title IV of the Administration's Proposed '07 Farm Bill

The Administration's '07 Farm Bill proposal reflects the Nation's long standing commitment to Federal nutrition assistance programs. The Administration's proposals outlined in Title IV continue this history of helping those most in need and builds on this success with targeted improvements in 3 areas: 1) increasing programs access, 2) moving America toward a healthier lifestyle, and 3) strengthening stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Here are a few specific points:

• Improve access through simplified policies and application procedures.
• There is a commitment to improving a balance that improves the accountability of the program.
• Understanding the increasing role of technology in today's social services, the proposals "modernize" the Program considering the need for accountability and access.
• Change the name to "Food and Nutrition Program". It is time to change the name since there are no longer stamps, but instead individuals and families access their benefits with debit cards. The name also needs to reflect the important components of the program-nutrition assistance and education.
• Further, the proposals include the Administration's commitment to support positive nutrition and health outcomes for Food Stamp participants. The Administration's farm bill proposal establishes a $20 million per year competitive grant program to develop and test solutions to the rising problem of obesity for low income Americans.
• The Nutrition Title also supports school efforts to serve meals that reflect the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. To support these efforts, the Administration encourages Americans to consume a wide variety of healthful foods including whole grains, non-fat and low-fat dairy products, and fruits and vegetables.
• The Administration's farm bill proposal is placing special emphasis on improving access to fruits and vegetables for participants in USDA's nutrition assistance programs, including the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, the Emergency Food Assistance Program, and other commodity distribution programs.

These reforms are estimated to generate an additional $138 million annually for participant benefits. The Administration's proposed farm bill will strengthen provisions to further improve program integrity by

• Investing $6 million in mandatory funding to conduct a survey of foods purchased by school food authorities with Federal cash assistance once every five years.

Youth

As academic communities, you are responsible for education, research, and outreach in another USDA program area -- Youth Development. The more than 7 million young people who are members of 4-H participate in programs which build on the research base in science -- including social, biological and physical sciences available at your universities.

Our current Youth Development mission mandates are familiar to you: Healthy Lifestyles, Citizenship, and Science, Engineering and Technology.

We see these young people as providing local, state and national leadership in solving problems of interest to them and their communities.

In our Youth Development Program we have effective collaborations with NASA, the Department of Energy, Health and Human Services, and the Interagency Council on Youth Development.

Next month the annual Secretary of Agriculture's Youth Conference will be held at the 4-H Conference Center in Maryland. During one day of this conference the young people will interact with members of Congress and the Secretary and have an opportunity to learn more about effective involvement in the political process. We want their leadership to be in the areas you know to be critical for enhanced quality of life for everyone.

V. FUTURE BUDGET SUPPORT

The Administration's 2008 budget proposal contains a modest increase in funding for EFNEP. There are also proposed increases in the National Research Initiative (NRI) to support work in bioenergy and biobased fuels, disaster resilience in rural and agricultural based communities, long-term agro-ecosystems, water quality, food safety and organic transitions. All of these areas can benefit from the scholarship provided by your academic communities.

I am hopeful that you regularly encourage your faculty in teaching, research and extension to register for our review panels for the NRI program. The selection of proposals is enhanced by a broader representation of scholars and it is an excellent tool for young researchers to enhance their craft and learn how the system works.

The administration's proposal for Farm Bill language also includes an increase for eXtension. I hope that scholars in your community are utilizing this technology to provide nationally-connected, locally-relevant information for citizens.

VI. TITLE VII (Research) of the ADMINISTRATION'S '07 FARM BILL PROPOSAL

I'd like to take a few minutes and share with you a few items in the Administration's '07 Farm Bill proposal regarding the Research (Title VII) of the Bill. This includes 3 main topics:

1. Reorganization of USDA's Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area
   • The Administration's '07 Farm Bill proposes the merger of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) into a single agency named the Research, education, and Extension Service (REES). It will coordinate both intramural and extramural research, extension, and education programs utilizing only one national program staff for support.
   • The Administration's proposal would also rename the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area to the "Science mission area" which will be called the "USDA Office of Science."
2. Bio Energy
   • The Administration's '07 Farm Bill proposal provides $50 million in annual mandatory spending for the creation of the Agricultural Bio-Energy and Bio-Based Products Research Initiative to enhance the production and conversion of biomass to renewable fuels and bioproducts.
   • The new initiative will focus research and development efforts on two objectives: 1) improving biomass production and sustainability and 2) improving biomass conversion in biorefineries.
   • These activities will be closely coordinated with the Department of Energy (DOE), and its national laboratories and centers of excellence and other components of the Federal government.
3. Specialty Crops
   • The Administration's proposal includes $100 million annually ($1 billion over 10 years) in mandatory funding to conduct research and education programs in support of specialty crops.

*While not directly supporters of programs in your area, there certainly will be indirect benefits and many areas where you can contribute.

VII. FOOD AND DIETARY GUIDELINES and RELATED ACTIVITIES

In 2005 HHS and USDA published the revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the My Pyramid computer-based tool for individual decision-making. We are now beginning planning for the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines required by Congress to be finished in 2010.

USDA will lead the effort for this edition and is committed to an evidence-based process with panels reviewing all relevant research. We will need both panel leadership and membership from your community. We have been overwhelmed by the popularity of My Pyramid and are investigating a variety of ways to provide continued enhancement and currency of this tool.

In USDA we have a primary responsibility to provide safe affordable food supplies to our citizens and to the world. In your colleges and departments across the country you teach disciplines which enable participants to obtain the private benefits of knowledge for their own decisions. But in addition much of your work emphasizes the public benefit to all of us.

Many times this aspect of your work is not well documented for its impact on the economic and social stability of our communities and of this nation. When individual decision makers and public policy makers make decisions that result in healthier diets, budgets that sustain families, housing that is affordable and safe, and nurturing relationships those outcomes translate into public benefits.

These benefits accrue through reduced medical costs, a lowering of credit disasters and bankruptcies and a greater stability in intimate relationships that nurture adults and children and youth.

Always keep this thought at the forefront, "nurturing both individuals and families leads to stronger communities that contribute to a healthy and vigorous society. The end result is a stronger Nation.

We appreciate what you do in contributing to this highly commendable goal.

Thank you!