The Honorable Phyllis K
August 8, 2007
The Honorable Phyllis K. Fong
Inspector General
United States Department of Agriculture
Room 117-W Jamie Whitten Bldg
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20250
Dear Ms. Fong:
We are writing to request an investigation into what we believe are illegal lobbying activities on the part of USDA employees seeking to block the legislative advancement of civil rights provisions in the farm bill recently passed by the House of Representatives.
This illegal lobbying activity is all the more disturbing in light of the well-documented history of discrimination against black farmers by the very agency whose personnel have now used government resources in an attempt to block legislation that would allow black farmers to renew pursuit of discrimination claims.
Disclosure of this illegal lobbying activity prompted the attached August 7, 2007, memorandum to all Farm Service Agency employees from Administrator Teresa Lasseter.
We are simultaneously referring this matter to the U.S. Department of Justice upon information and belief that USDA employees made use of appropriated funds for activities that directly or indirectly were intended or designed to influence Members of Congress to oppose pending civil rights legislation pertaining to USDA, in violation of a criminal statute (18 U.S.C. 1913) that prohibits lobbying with appropriated moneys.
Bases upon information it is our belief that during business hours on the morning of August 2, 2007, USDA employee Kim DePasquale, an official with the Farm Service Agency’s Service Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia, used a government computer to send the attached email to 40 other FSA employees stationed in Virginia.
The email urges recipients to contact their Senators to oppose a provision in the farm bill passed July 27 by the House of Representatives that would reopen a landmark civil rights case against the department for discrimination in providing farm loans to black farmers.
The provision under challenge would allow up to 73,000 black farmers another chance to pursue discrimination claims that were disqualified without review on their merits because they were filed after a court-mandated deadline.
The DePasquale email states, in part:
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATOR TODAY CONCERNING THE FOLLOWING: DO NOT ALLOW LATE FILERS ON THE PIGFORD LAWSUIT. AMPLE TIME AND OPPORTUNITY WAS GIVEN DURING THE INITIAL SUIT TO FILE AND THIS LATE FILING WOULD BURY THE AGENCY AND COST TAXPAYERS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IF THE 73,000 LATE FILERS ARE ACCEPTED
Members, please step up and make your voice heard in this Farm Bill debate. I am willing to tell my Senators that I will not cast my vote for anyone who will not stand up and do what's right instead of worrying about being politically correct. They should be fiscally responsible and at the same time listen to their constituents! [sic] WE CAN STOP THIS IF WE RISE UP TOGETHER AND MAKE OUR VOICE HEARD! KEEP CONTACTING THEM UNTIL THEY HEAR YOU! MAKE SURE THEY RECEIVE YOUR MESSAGE, FAX, E-MAIL, ETC.
[All emphases in original.]
Ms. DePasquale confirmed to Kenneth Cook during a telephone conversation the afternoon of Monday, August 6, that she had in fact sent the email from a government computer during business hours. Ms. DePasquale stated at that time that prior to sending the email, she had received a version of it at her government computer that had been transmitted from yet another government computer.
Ms. DePasquale’s email makes hearsay reference to contacts between USDA Deputy Administrator for Farm Loan Programs, Carolyn Cooksie, and the National Association of Credit Specialists, a professional association of USDA employees who administer the loan programs that were the subject of the Pigford discrimination case.
NACS has just spoken to Carolyn Cooksie concerning the inclusion of another Pigford Bill attached to the House's version of the Farm Bill. She said it is "awful" and will allow some 73,000 late filers in and we will probably have another class action suit.Ms. DePasquale’s email concludes:
Remember, don't make contacts using the office telephone or computer. Send your contacts from home or from another location other than the office, but send them! It would also be great to have others contact them as well. Tell you friends, CED's [County Executive Directors of FSA], and farmers what's going on in this Farm Bill debate and they may wish to make contacts as well. Especially those that have influence with their Senators!
We allege that this email, and any others like it sent from government computers, at minimum violates 18 U.S.C. 1913 (Lobbying with appropriated moneys):
No part of the money appropriated by any enactment of Congress shall, in the absence of express authorization by Congress, be used directly or indirectly to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, to favor or oppose, by vote or otherwise, any legislation or appropriation by Congress, whether before or after the introduction of any bill or resolution proposing such legislation or appropriation; but this shall not prevent officers or employees of the United States or of its departments or agencies from communicating to Members of Congress on the request of any Member or to Congress, through the proper official channels, requests for legislation or appropriations which they deem necessary for the efficient conduct of the public business.
Whoever, being an officer or employee of the United States or of any department or agency thereof, violates or attempts to violate this section, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and after notice and hearing by the superior officer vested with the power of removing him, shall be removed from office or employment.
We request that you investigate any and all potential violations of federal criminal or civil law involving the use of government resources, including paid staff time, computers, phones or other devices, to influence Members of Congress in opposition to pending civil rights provisions of the House-passed farm bill.
We specifically ask that you direct your investigation to employees referenced in the DePasquale email; to government employee-members and officers of the National Association of Credit Specialists or the National Association of Support Employees (NASE); and to other USDA employees who may have violated federal law in this matter.
We thank you for your time and attention to this important issue.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Cook Dr. John Boyd
President President
Environmental Working Group National Black Farmers Association
Cc: Alice S. Fisher, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice
Hon. Mike Johanns, Secretary of Agriculture
Chuck Conner, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Margo M. McKay, Undersecretary for Civil Rights, USDA
Hon. Teresa Lasseter, Administrator, Farm Service Agency
Hon. Charles Grassley, United States Senate
Hon. Barack Obama, United States Senate
Hon. John Conyers, Chairman, House Committee on the Judiciary
Hon. Steve Chabot, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Chairwoman, Congressional Black Caucus
Hon. Sanford Bishop, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Corrine Brown, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. G. K. Butterfield, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Julia Carson, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Donna Christian-Christensen, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Yvette Clarke, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. William Lacy Clay, Jr., U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. James Clyburn, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Elijah Cummings, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Artur Davis, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Danny K. Davis, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Keith Ellison, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Chaka Fattah, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Al Green, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Alcee Hastings, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. William J. Jefferson, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Hank Johnson, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Barbara Lee, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. John Lewis, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Kendrick Meek, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Gregory Meeks, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Gwen Moore, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Donald M. Payne, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Charles B. Rangel, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Bobby Rush, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Bobby Scott, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. David Scott, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Bennie Thompson, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Edolphus Towns, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Maxine Waters, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Diane Watson, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Melvin Watt, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Albert Wynn, U.S. House of Representatives
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