For immediate release: Thursday, July 29, 2010
Contact: Oversight Committee Press Office, (202) 225-5051

Chairman Towns Statement on Meeting with Secretary Vilsack

Discussion focused on the circumstances surrounding the forced resignation of Shirley Sherrod

WASHINGTON – At the request of Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today met with the chairman and Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) to provide a comprehensive briefing on the decision to request the resignation of Shirley Sherrod as the Georgia state director of rural development for the Agriculture Department.  Chairman Towns issued the following remarks after the meeting concluded:

“Today, Ranking Member Issa and I met with Secretary Vilsack to discuss the circumstances surrounding Shirley Sherrod’s forced resignation from the Agriculture Department.  Based on our conversation, I am satisfied that Secretary Vilsack solely made the decision to terminate Ms. Sherrod’s employment.  As chairman of the committee charged with overseeing the Federal workforce, I was pleased that Secretary Vilsack agreed to ensure the Department develops a fact-based decision making process to deal with all future employment matters.”

###