Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : USDA Chief Halts Employee Bonuses

Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy suspended employee awards within his department, saying 42 separate bonus programs had cost the USDA $35 million last year and exposed it to “ridicule.” The bonuses ranged from $250 “spot awards,” given with minimal documentation, to payments of $10,000 or more to senior executives. Just administering the awards programs for the department’s 110,000 workers cost $2.1 million over the last two years, Espy said. He said he wanted to review the bonus programs because “there is a perception that awards, bonuses and career advancements sometimes have more to do with cronyism and elitism than with merit.”