Office of Communications

What this funds

The base funds will allow the Office of Communications (OC) to carry out its statutory responsibilities and to provide guidance, leadership, counsel, and coordination for the Department's public information activities. These information activities promote the programs, policies, and activities that support America's farmers, foresters, producers, and ranchers. OC serves as the key USDA contact point for dissemination of consistent, timely information to the public. In addition to appropriated funding used for human resources operational services, current year and budget year base funds may also be used to support expedited and enhanced classification, staffing and processing efforts. In accordance with administration policy announced in the Budget, OC will follow new government-wide grants guidance prohibiting the use of Federal funds to pay for subscriptions to academic journals, as well as for the publication of research results that are not specifically required by Federal statute or approved in advance by a Federal agency. This policy preserves funds to support actual research by ensuring that the American taxpayer does not pay for the research, publication, and access to that research, essentially triple-charging the public for the same product. The numbers of the following listing relates to values in the Change (Chg) Key column of the Project (1) A decrease of $3,000 to the Office of Communications for National Security Related Expenses being transferred to the Office of Homeland Security ($5,000,000 and 23 FTEs available in This decrease of $3,000 for National Security Related Expenses, being realigned to the Office of Homeland Security (OHS), will enhance efficiency and effectiveness within USDA. This strategic realignment will centralize resources under OHS, which provides leadership in national security through policy development, emergency preparedness and response initiatives, and threat mitigation coordination. Consolidating the budget under OHS eliminates redundancies, ensures more coordinated resource allocation, and improves the execution of departmental security policies, ultimately bolstering the USDA's resilience and readiness without compromising overall Table OC-7. Geographic Breakdown of Obligations and FTEs (thousands of dollars, FTEs) Table OC-8. Classification by Objects - Discretionary Funding (thousands of dollars) Operation and maintenance of facilities ... This page was intentionally left blank. The Office of Communication (OC) ensures that information concerning USDA's programs, policies, and activities reaches the American people in an actionable, accurate, thorough, and accessible manner for all who have an interest in or rely on our services. The Office of Communications does this by disseminating information through a variety of owned digital and broadcast methods, through press announcements, via the news media, and through in-person and virtual engagements hosted by USDA or partner organizations. The successful implementation of the Department's initiatives relies on effective communication and public education initiatives, which make it possible for the public to access information on, engage with, and use the Department's programs. The Office of Communications also sets the standard for message consistency and quality of communications products from USDA's agencies and staff offices. Given the increasing frequency of natural disasters and the need for cross-cutting support from multiple USDA mission areas, OC has also taken on a emergencies that potentially affect large segments of the agriculture sector or the public. Creative Media and Broadcast Center (CMBC) CMBC provides strategic planning, development, production, and distribution of various range of initiatives such as information campaigns, training programs, public service announcement

Extracted from Office of Communications, p. 8. Verbatim; nothing here is paraphrased.

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Answers come from the figures on this page and nothing else. These dollars are parsed from Agriculture (USDA)'s Congressional Justification and are approximate — confirm anything that matters against the cited page.