An ardent opponent of President Joe Biden’s vaccine decree, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), is seeking to shield the Farm Service Agency (FSA) from the requirement to become inoculated against COVID-19.
In late September, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) personnel received a memorandum detailing the Biden administration’s requirement for full and part-time employees to become vaccinated. As an agency of the USDA, the requirement applies to FSA committee members as well.
Members must comply with the administration’s mandate or face termination, according to a release issued by Moore’s office.
The FSA is charged with the oversight and implementation of various USDA programs. This includes state agricultural conservation programs, production adjustment and price support programs, livestock programs, Agricultural Market Transition Act programs, among others.
Moore recently sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack sounding the alarm over what he believed could threaten the stability of FSA services nationwide.
In his letter, Moore noted that many members of the agriculture community had expressed their concerns over the requirement, saying they would “likely step aside and resign rather than accept this intrusive mandate.”
The South Alabama congressman issued a statement regarding the letter in which he called for FSA committee members to be exempt from the requirement.
“USDA’s requirement for the mandatory vaccination of all state and county FSA committee members and advisors is extremely short-sighted and harmful to the communities USDA serves,” said Moore. “Too many policy changes – especially those impacting agriculture – occur far from those most often impacted, and this decision by USDA is no exception.”
He added, “Secretary Vilsack should not hamstring USDA’s mission by punishing FSA leaders and public servants who play such an important role as advocates for their communities and their industry. I hope the Secretary will reconsider his position and exempt these committee members or offer reasonable accommodations to allow them to continue their service while unvaccinated.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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