AFSA recognizes that FAS is facing a difficult and challenging budget situation and is empathetic with the difficult decisions that need to be made. In the current budget climate, it is clear that FAS needs to address the major cost drivers – salaries and international operations. As we go through this cost-cutting exercise, AFSA would like to emphasize the importance of achieving a balance between cuts in our domestic and international operations.

Our overseas presence is indispensable to the effective management of the Agency's programs. Our posts overseas play a vital role in negotiating new trade agreements, resolving trade disputes, marketing agricultural products abroad, and collecting agricultural market intelligence. To ensure that the activities of these posts and the resources committed to them are aligned with Agency goals, FAA conducts a thorough and rigorous global review process every year. Surprisingly, there is not a similar structure in place to evaluate our domestic operations.

AFSA encourages FAS to consider implementing a "domestic review" process to ensure that resources committed to our domestic operations are aligned with FAS strategic goals. This could be achieved by creating a strategic operations committee at the Deputy Assistant Administrator level that meets on a regular basis to review and discuss how assets are allocated domestically within the context of Agency constraints and opportunities. Through this on-going process, program managers would be expected to explain how their resources are allocated and what results they are achieving. Information systematically available through this committee would enable management to take a more rigorous approach to domestic resource reallocation decisions. An on-going domestic review process would also help ensure a more balanced approach to cost cutting and minimize the temptation to meet budget constraints by simply closing offices overseas.

AFSA would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to learn more about the Agency's budget cutting strategy. We would also welcome the opportunity to participate in a domestic review process to ensure a balance between domestic and international operations.