Subject: Gore to hold "town meeting" with Agriculture Department workers

From: [email-masked] (Nigel Allen)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1993 02:56:46 GMT

Here is a press release from the Office of the Vice President

 Gore to Hold Town Meeting with Department of Agriculture Workers
 To: National and Assignment desks
 Contact: Heidi Kukis, 202-456-7035 or Julia Payne, 202-456-7036,
          both of the Office of the Vice President

   News Advisory:

   Vice President Gore will meet with federal and regional workers,
ask their views, and hear employees' ideas on making government
work for people Wednesday, April 7 at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.  Satellite hookups will be available live from Vermont,
Texas, Wisconsin and Missouri.

   Continuing to reach out to federal workers as part of a national
effort to make government more effective and efficient, Vice
President Al Gore will join Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy
Wednesday, April 7, to listen to the ideas of department
workers here and in Vermont, Texas, Wisconsin, and Missouri
to talk about how to make their agency and the federal government
work better, harder and smarter for the American people.

   The Vice President will have a "town meeting" Wednesday, April 7
with Agriculture Department workers to focus on these questions.
Department employees from four regional offices in Vermont,
Texas, Wisconsin and Missouri also will take part through a live
satellite hookup, giving their views on how to streamline and
improve government services.

   The Vice President will arrive at the Agriculture Department
at 9:30 a.m. EDT, then meet with department employees at the
department's Atrium West Patio.

   Satellite coordinates:  Galaxy 6, Transponder 11, Audio
6.2/6.8. The town meeting will begin at 9:45 a.m. EDT.

   "Employees on the frontlines know better than anyone how
they could do their jobs better, saving money and time in the
process.  We need to hear their ideas about how their agency and
the federal government could be more effective and efficient,"
the Vice President said.  "We need to encourage new and
innovative ways of doing business where the customer -- the
American people -- comes first."

   "Quality management is practiced by the private sector
because every business knows that if you can't serve your
customers effectively and efficiently, then you're not doing your
job.  The federal government, too, must adopt quality in its
management if it wants to serve the American people responsibly,"
the Vice President said.

   Wednesday's meeting marks the second in a series of agency
visits in Washington, D.C., and nationwide to talk with federal
employees and listen to their suggestions.  As an important step
toward making government work better, President Clinton announced
in March the beginning of a six-month National Performance Review
the Vice President will direct to examine every federal agency
and expenditure to find ways to improve the federal government.

                 SCHEDULE FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT
      AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT VISIT  Wednesday, April 7, 1993

9:30 a.m. EDT    THE VICE PRESIDENT ARRIVES at the Department of
                 Agriculture, met by Secretary Espy.

9:45 a.m. EDT     TOWN MEETING begins.
                  Department of Agriculture, Atrium West Patio.

10:45 a.m. EDT    VICE PRESIDENT visits with department employees
                  in the Cafeteria.

11 a.m. EDT       VICE PRESIDENT departs the Agriculture
                  Department.

   NOTE:  All press who wish to attend must have proper
identification from an accredited media organization.  The Secret
Service will begin credentialing for the event at 7 a.m. EDT at
the Department of Agriculture entrance, Independence Avenue, NW.

   Press who wish to attend the town meeting at regional
offices should contact the Agriculture Department branch in their
area.

 -30-
-- 
Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada    [email-masked]