When USDA was established in 1862, more than half of the American workforce was engaged in farming. The Department’s objectives, as outlined by the first Commissioner of Agriculture, were to (1) collect, arrange, and publish statistical and other useful agricultural information; (2) introduce valuable plants and animals; (3) answer farmers’ inquiries on agriculture; (4) test agricultural implements; (5) conduct chemical analyses of soils, grains, fruits, plants, vegetables, and manures; (6) establish a professorship of botany and entomology; and (7) establish an agricultural library and museum. Since then, new needs and problems have caused USDA’s responsibilities to expand greatly. USDA’s current departmental mission is to enhance the quality of life for the American people by (1) supporting production agriculture; (2) ensuring a safe, affordable, nutritious, and accessible food supply; (3) caring for agricultural, forest, and range lands; (4) supporting the sound development of rural communities; (5) providing economic opportunities for farm and rural residents; (6) expanding global markets for U.S. agricultural and forest products and services; and (7) working to reduce hunger in America and throughout the world. To accomplish this overall mission, USDA has organized its agencies into seven mission areas: Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services; Marketing and Regulatory Programs; Food Safety; Natural Resources and Environment; Research, Education, and Economics; and Rural Development. Appendixes I through VII describe USDA’s seven mission areas in more detail, including a description of each agency’s mission and activities, similarities to other federal agencies, and prior GAO reports discussing these similarities. Figure 1 shows, by mission area, how USDA funds were obligated in fiscal year 1997. Concerning organizational structure, we have reported that the number and diversity of USDA’s responsibilities create fundamental management problems for the Department. These include difficulties in the following areas: establishing a meaningful set of overarching departmentwide objectives because several of USDA’s current responsibilities are not related to one another or may conflict; managing a conglomerate of many independent agencies and offices; and effectively carrying out responsibilities, such as those in the food safety and food assistance areas, that are part of broader federal efforts shared among several federal agencies. We identified a number of similar activities performed by both USDA and other agencies through our analysis of USDA and other agencies’ budget functions, mission statements, strategic and annual performance plans, and other agency documents, as well as the U.S. Government Manual and past GAO reports. For example, food inspection services are provided by both USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and HHS’ Food and Drug Administration; land management activities are carried out by the Forest Service and three agencies within the Department of the Interior; and statistical activities are carried out by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics and Economic Research Services and at least nine other federal agencies. These apparent similarities and others related to international trade, economic development, rural housing, and nutrition are discussed in greater detail below and in appendixes I through VII. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service—in USDA’s food safety mission area (see app. I)—regulates the safety, wholesomeness, and proper labeling of most domestic and imported meat and poultry sold for human consumption. The Food and Drug Administration, through its inspection activities, is similar to FSIS in the way it carries out its responsibilities for ensuring that domestic and imported food products—except for most meats and poultry—are safe, sanitary, nutritious, and wholesome and are honestly labeled. We have reported that this division of responsibility is ineffective and inefficient and have recommended the formation of a single food safety agency. On August 25, 1998, the President issued an executive order establishing the President’s Council on Food Safety to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for federal food safety activities, including a coordinated food safety budget. USDA’s Forest Service—part of USDA’s Natural Resources and Environment mission area (see app. II)—is responsible for sustaining the health, productivity, and diversity of the nation’s forests and rangelands. At least three other federal agencies—the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service within the Department of the Interior—perform some similar land management activities. We have reported that the responsibilities of these four major federal land management agencies have grown more alike over time. Because these agencies perform numerous similar activities and have complex and sometimes conflicting laws governing their land management activities, we have concluded that these activities could be carried out more efficiently and effectively either by combining the agencies or by streamlining the existing structure through the coordination and integration of functions, activities, and field locations. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service—part of USDA’s Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services mission area (see app. III)—serves U.S. agriculture’s international interests by expanding export opportunities for U.S. agricultural, fish, and forest products. At least two other federal agencies are also involved in international trade. The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration promotes U.S. exports. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency—an independent federal agency—helps U.S. companies, including those involved in agriculture, pursue overseas business opportunities. We have reported that federal export activities are fragmented among several agencies and could better serve the nation’s business interests through closer cooperation. Currently, USDA is part of an interagency Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, along with the Departments of State and Commerce, that has been charged with developing a governmentwide strategic plan for strengthening federal export promotion services. According to USDA officials, improvements in coordination have been made with the other agencies. USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service—part of the Department’s Rural Development mission area (see app. IV)—provides loans and grants for economic and business development in rural communities. At least four other agencies—the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Small Business Administration, and the Appalachian Regional Commission—provide similar services. All of these agencies provide loans and/or grants for the economic development of communities throughout the nation. However, while the activities of some of these agencies, such as RBS, are national in scope, others have a more narrowly focused clientele. For example, the Appalachian Regional Commission supports economic development only in Appalachia. USDA’s Rural Housing Service—part of USDA’s Rural Development mission area (see app. IV)—provides direct and guaranteed housing loans to borrowers in rural communities. HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs perform similar activities, but their clienteles are somewhat different. We have reported that although a number of other federal programs share in HUD’s mission to assist households that may be underserved by the private market, none reach as many households as does HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA). USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)—in USDA’s Research, Education and Economics mission area (see app. V)—is responsible for serving agriculture and its rural communities by providing objective statistical information and services. There are 11 principal federal statistical agencies, including NASS and USDA’s Economic Research Service. We have reported that while this decentralized system contributes to inefficiency, consolidating this function could result in diminished responsiveness to some customers and possible objections to the concentration of data in a single agency. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service—part of the Department’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services mission area (see app. VI)—provides children and needy families with access to a more healthful diet through its food assistance programs and nutrition education efforts. HHS performs some similar food assistance and nutrition education activities. For example, HHS’ Maternal and Child Health Bureau provides nutrition education activities that are similar to those of FNS’ Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program. Both agencies provide funding to the states to meet the nutritional and developmental needs of mothers and children. In addition, both HHS and FNS conduct similar activities to improve the nutrition of the elderly. We have reported that one alternative to reducing costs and streamlining operations in USDA would be to consolidate the meal programs for the elderly in HHS, thereby giving the funding responsibility to the agency that provides the most funding and has overall oversight responsibilities for meal programs for the elderly. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 seeks to focus government decision-making and accountability on the results of activities. The act requires federal agencies to prepare annual performance plans, including an explanation of how similar activities will be coordinated with other agencies. As we reported in June 1998, while the plans of most of USDA’s component agencies at least partially discussed the need to coordinate with agencies having related strategic or performance goals, many of these fiscal year 1999 annual performance plans did not explain how this coordination would be accomplished. For example, although the Forest Service’s performance plan emphasized efforts to ensure sustainable ecosystems, it did not discuss how the Service would coordinate its efforts with those of other agencies having a similar goal, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Department of Interior; state conservation agencies; or environmental, timber, and industrial organizations. We used several methods to identify similar activities at USDA and other federal agencies. We compared USDA’s expenditures by budget function and subfunction with those of other federal agencies. We also compared USDA’s missions, objectives, and goals with those of other departments, as identified in the departments’ strategic and performance plans. We reviewed the U.S. Government Manual, agency documents, and other pertinent documents to determine other activities agencies conduct. Finally, we reviewed prior GAO reports that dealt with these particular agencies and issues. Individually, these methods have some limitations, as discussed below.