Release No.0006.99 
USDA RENAMES BUILDING TO HONOR SIDNEY R. YATES
                                                               
                Media Contact:    Andrew Kauders (202) 720-4623
                                        andrew.kauders@usda.gov
                Public Contact:   Martha Cashion (202) 720-3310
                                        martha.cashion@usda.gov

USDA RENAMES BUILDING TO HONOR SIDNEY R. YATES

     WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 1999 Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
announced the renaming of the Auditor's Main Building, which serves as
headquarters for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, to the
Sidney R. Yates Federal Building. 

     "Having served in the House of Representatives with Sidney Yates, I have
first-hand knowledge of his personal commitment to the conservation of the
nation's natural resources," Glickman said.  "For almost half a century, he
was the guiding light for federal efforts in urban and community forestry.  It
is only fitting that we honor him by placing his name on the building which
houses USDA's  Forest Service." 
          
     Yates was first elected to the House of Representatives from Illinois in
November 1948 and served continuously until 1963.  He was reelected to the
House in the fall of 1964, after a bid for a seat in the U.S. Senate and a
subsequent appointment to the United Nations.  Since then he has served as a
member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related
Agencies, which appropriates the Forest Service's budget, and the Subcommittee
on Foreign Operations.

     The new Yates Federal Building is a restored historical structure dating
from 1880.  It is located at the corner of 14th Street and Independence
Avenue, overlooking the Mall and the Washington Monument.  It was first
constructed to house the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, but in 1914, when
the Bureau outgrew the building, it was used as offices for the auditors of
the Navy, Treasury, and State Departments.  Later occupants included USDA,
which eventually took total occupancy of the building.
                         
                               #
                                #

NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. 
Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov