Peterson: Stimulus to give USDA $250M for IT upgrade

The economic stimulus package will contain $250 million to fix long-term computer problems at USDA, according to House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson. At a National Farmers Union inaugural party Monday, Peterson said USDA had requested $300 million and that the stimulus package would provide $250 million.

Peterson said the request is on target because it came from independent computer professionals hired to evaluate how the agency could modernize its computer systems. Peterson also said he has urged Agriculture Secretary-designate Tom Vilsack to retain the same computer experts, and cited in particular the need for USDA to jettison COBOL as its programming language.

In related news, Vilsack has chosen John Norris, chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board, as his chief of staff, several sources at the Farmers Union event said. Carole Jett, a former high ranking Natural Resources Conservation Service official who worked in the Obama Indiana campaign, is also likely to have a top post within the secretary's office, while Dallas Tonsager, a Farm Credit Administration Board member, is likely to be Agriculture undersecretary for rural development, the sources added.