WASHINGTON (January 16, 2020) – Ohio Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge, who chairs the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations, issued the following statement Thursday upon the resignation of USDA Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Naomi Earp. Under Chair Fudge’s leadership, the Subcommittee had been reviewing Earp’s work to address longstanding civil rights and discrimination issues at USDA:

“What USDA’s stakeholders and employees deserve is a champion for their rights — someone willing to acknowledge the Department’s decades-long history of discrimination, and work in good faith to overcome its past. Whoever next fills this important role must understand the importance of strong civil rights enforcement to ensure everyone who looks to USDA to stand up for them can trust that will happen.”