In the area of Emergency Preparedness, this activity: Supervises, directs and provides administrative staff support to the Department's 10 Regional Emergency Staffs; 51 USDA State Emergency Boards with representatives of the 10 USDA agencies in the field. Maintains liaison with Executive Departments and Agencies and the Congress on crisis policy matters and with State Emergency Planning Coordinators. Responsible for maintaining USDA-wide administrative readiness for continuity of essential Government functions. Establishes and maintains liaison with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate information methods, media, and subject matter relating to the USDA crisis management programs; represents and coordinates the Department's role at the scene of major disasters when national-level representation is needed. Maintains liaison with USDA agency crisis program contacts, which are Coordinates USDA Agency contributions to a draft Water Resources Emergency -- Participates in the planning of joint Government-wide readiness exercises involving the military, Joint Chiefs of Staff and all civilian agencies having continuity of Government responsibilities. - Coordinated the USDA response to the Mt. St. Helens volcano disaster. In the area of International Affairs, this activity: - - Acted Provides U.S. representation on the NATO Food and Agriculture Planning Committee (FAPC); FAPC Working Group; FAPC Training Team; and FAPC and Industrial Planning Committee Joint Working Group. Develops U.S. position papers for presentation at meetings held at NATO Headquarters and completes tasks and special projects assigned to the U.S. FAPC representative. Maintains close working relationships with U.S. representatives on other NATO Has joint responsibility with the Departments of Commerce for planning the Contributes to and participates in NATO training sessions and exercises. Hosted the 1980 training session for food and agriculture designees to the CSA. Approximately 75 participants attended from U.K., Europe, Canada and the U.S. Congressional Affairs This activity includes the responsibility for maintaining liaison with the Congress and the White House on legislative matters. Specific functions are handling requests from Congress, either personnally or by assigning the request to the proper agency; monitoring all Congressional hearings on matters of interest to the Department and arranging for USDA witnesses for those hearings; meeting with public groups as requested by Congress or by those public groups; and assisting in preparing briefing information for the Secretary and the White House. In addition, the staff provides a means for communicating the viewpoints of members of Congress to the Secretary and other USDA policy staff regarding Departmental policies and activities. Activities during FY 1980 included meeting regularly with agency Congressional liaison staffs to assure better coordination, and assisting in the preparation and distribution of issue briefing papers on agricultural issues of interest to the Congress. FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 1981. OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL WITNESSES J. MICHAEL KELLY, ACTING GENERAL COUNSEL, OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL RICHARD L. FOWLER, ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES, OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL JAMES F. HINCHMAN, ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND ASSISTANCE, OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUN SEL MIRIAM A. BENDER, ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, REGULATORY AND MARKETING, OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL JEANNE M. STANEK, BUDGET OFFICER, OFFICE OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCE ROBERT SHERMAN, DEPUTY BUDGET OFFICER, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Mr. WHITTEN. The Committee will come to order. We have with us today Mr. Kelly and Mr. Fowler and others. Mr. Kelly is Acting General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture. I won't repeat again what I had to say when they changed the name to the General Counsel, but you know the old story about the dog who quit hunting after he got to be General Counsel. So we are glad to have you here. We are glad to hear from you. We have read your statement and are familiar with it. We would be glad for you to present it. There are a number of questions that I will have about the actual operations of the General Counsel's Office. You might begin by introducing your associates who have not previously appeared before the Committee. INTRODUCTION OF WITNESSES Mr. KELLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to be here to discuss with you the budget request for fiscal year 1982 for the Office of General Counsel. With me this morning, Mr. Chairman, are on my far right, Ms. Jeanne Stanek from the Department's Office of Operations and Finance. On my immediate right, Miriam Bender, Associate General Counsel. On my left are Jim Hinchman, Associate General Counsel, and Richard Fowler, Associate General Counsel. At the end of the table, as I think you know, is Bob Sherman from the Department's Office of Budget, Planning and Evalution. Mr. WHITTEN. We will insert your biographical sketches in the record at this point. [The information follows:] BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JAMES MICHAEL Kelly Mr. Kelly is the Associate General Counsel for Legislation, Litigation, Research and Operations for the Department of Agriculture, and thus is responsible for all legislative drafting and review; appellate and environmental litigation; legal advice regarding agricultural and economic research programs; and legal services regarding USDA operations generally (tort and contract claims, procurement law, patent law questions, civil rights matters, administrative and personnel law matters). Mr. Kelly also serves as the Department's Ethics Counselor. He has been in the General Counsel's Office of the Department of Agriculture, performing essentially these functions, since 1973. He was detailed to serve as Acting Counsel of the newly formed Commodity Futures Trading Commission in April-May 1975. Previously, Mr. Kelly served from 1967 until 1973 as Legislative Attorney, Deputy Legislative Counsel, Special Assistant to the General Counsel, and Legislative Counsel for the U.S. Small Business Administration. Mr. Kelly has served since January 1981 as Acting General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture. Mr. Kelly was born in Middletown, Ohio, in 1939. He attended schools in Ohio and Florida, and received his A.B. degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1961. He earned his J.D. degree from the University of Virginia in 1964. Mr. Kelly is admitted to practice before the bars of Virginia, Florida, and the District of Columbia. Mr. Kelly served on active duty with the U.S. Army from 1964 until 1966, including one year's tour of duty in Vietnam, and was discharged as a Captain, U.S. Army Reserve, in 1966. Mr. Kelly resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his wife and three children. BIOGRAPHICAL Sketch of MirIAM A. BENDER Miriam Bender has been Associate General Counsel for Regulatory and Marketing of USDA's Office of the General Counsel since March 1980. From 1972 to 1980, Ms. Bender was employed by the Federal Trade Commission. She joined the Commission staff in 1972 and served as Assistant to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection (1974-1976) and Special Assistant to the General Counsel (1977-1980). Ms. Bender was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1949. She received an A.B. from Vassar College in 1969 and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law In 1972. She is a member of the bars of the State of New York and the District of Columbia. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JAMES F. HINCHMAN Mr. Hinchman is the Associate General Counsel for Production, Distribution and Assistance for the Department of Agriculture, supervising divisions servicing the Food and Nutrition Service, Commodity Credit Corporation, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, and the Foreign Agricultural Service. Mr. Hinchman came to the Department in August 1980, having previously served as Deputy Associate Director for Labor, Veterans and Education for the Office of Management and Budget. He has served the federal government in various capacities since 1970. Mr. Hinchman was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He received an A.B. degree, cum laude, from Harvard College in 1963. In 1970 he earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he served as articles editor for volume 83 of the Harvard Law Review. Mr. Hinchman is a member of the bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. 1982 BUDGET REQUEST Mr. KELLY. Mr. Chairman, I think you are well aware of the operations of the General Counsel's Office in the Department. We are, as you know, the Department's central legal office. We provide all legal services to the Secretary and to the officers of the Department and for all the agencies in the Department. The legal services, of course, run the gamut from active participation in litigation, sometimes independent handling of litigation |