Four Democratic senators turned up pressure on the Agriculture Department on Tuesday to explain the impacts of steep staffing reductions and frozen funding for grants.
In a letter to Kristen Sleeper, deputy undersecretary for natural resources and environment, the lawmakers complained that the agency gave incomplete answers to a similar inquiry weeks ago — and added more questions to be answered.
“Your incomplete response left significant questions unanswered concerning which projects, grants, agreements and staff have been affected by the Trump administration’s recent actions,” they wrote.
Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) co-wrote the letter with Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Patty Murray of Washington.
