USDA

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Sierra Dawn McClain, Can the 'People's Department' Be Cut to Size? Wall Street Journal, Mar 15, 2025, at page A13 (interview with new Secretary of Agriculture)/
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/can- ... ke-rollins-054c4d0d

first three paragraphs:

                        "Washington

"If you're looking for an example of how the federal bureaucracy proliferates, it's hard to beat the US Department of Agriculture. When it was established in 1862, it had a commissioner and nine employees. In his 1864 message to Congress, President Abraham Lincoln called the USDA 'the people’s Department, in which they feel more directly concerned than any other.' Little wonder: In the 1860s, more than half of all Americans worked on farms.

"Congress elevated the USDA to cabinet status in 1889. Today it oversees 29 subagencies with nearly 100,000 employees, and it reports its total outlays last year at $228.3 billion. The share of Americans who work in agriculture has shrunk to less than 2%, but the former 'people's Department' reaches into every farm, national forest, rural town, grocery store and school cafeteria.

"Enter Secretary Brooke Rollins, who took office Feb. 13. She calls herself a true believer in trimming the bureaucracy. She says President Trump was elected on the proposition 'that it's time to downsize government. With USDA being one of the larger agencies, clearly that's a top-of-the-list priority.' Her experience so far illustrates the challenges of this project—as well as of other Trump priorities, such as his trade wars.

Note:
(a) United States Department of Agriculture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un ... ment_of_Agriculture

introduction: "Approximately 71% of the USDA's $213 billion budget goes towards nutrition assistance programs administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The largest component of the FNS budget is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ([acronym: SNAP;] formerly known as the 'Food Stamp' program), which is the cornerstone of USDA's nutrition assistance.[2] The United States Forest Service is the largest agency within the department, which administers national forests and national grasslands that together comprise about 25% of federal lands.

section 2 History: "On May 15, 1862, Abraham Lincoln established the independent Department of Agriculture through the Morrill [Land-Grant] Act to be headed by a commissioner without Cabinet status. Staffed by only eight employees * * *

(b) "In his 1864 message to Congress, President Abraham Lincoln called the USDA 'the people’s Department' "
(i) President Lincoln's 1864 MESSAGE to the Congress was his last (he was assassinated and died on Apr 15, 1865.
(ii) State of the Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Union
(section 2 History)
(iii) President Lincoln made
(A) one special message to Congress (on Civil War on July 4, 1861)
(B) four annual message to Congress: Dec 3, 1861 (Tuesday); Dec 1, 1862 (Monday); Dec 8, 1863 (Tuesday); Dec 6, 1864 (Tuesday).