USDA to Begin Relief Payments to Minority Farmers Despite Lawsuit

May 27, 2021 by Reece Nations
USDA to Begin Relief Payments to Minority Farmers Despite Lawsuit
Screen shot Boyd Farms, National Black Famrers Associationn

WASHINGTON — The Department of Agriculture announced it will start making loan forgiveness payments to thousands of minority farmers in June as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Roughly $4 billion was set aside by the economic relief package specifically for Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and other minority farmers to address years of systemic racism. In 1997, a class action lawsuit was filed by African American farmer plaintiffs who alleged the USDA unfairly withheld loans from them for years and failed to process subsequent complaints.

The lawsuit, known as Pigford v. Glickman, was settled in 1999 and around $1.06 billion in cash relief, tax payments, and debt relief had been paid to the farmers in adjudication, according to a Congressional Research Service report. 

“For Black and minority farmers, the American Rescue Plan could represent one of the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation in decades,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in an op-ed for USA Today. “That’s because deep within the law is a provision that responds to decades of systemic discrimination perpetrated against farmers and ranchers of color by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The law directs USDA to pay off the farm loans of nearly 16,000 minority farmers and begin to address long standing racial equity challenges that have plagued farmers of color for generations.”

For generations, agricultural communities across the nation have undergone a steep decline in Black farmers. In 1910, Black farmers accounted for 14% of the United States farming population, but today they only represent 1.4% of the farming population, according to the Associated Press.

Years of discrimination resulted in a section of the 1990 “Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act” that defines a “Socially Disadvantaged Farmer or Rancher” as either an individual or a group that have been “subjected to racial or ethnic prejudices because of their identity,” according to the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. Further provisions included in the 2008 Farm Bill granted “improved access to farm programs for beginning, limited-resource, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.”

But now the payments to minority farmers face a different sort of legal challenge — a class action complaint filed by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and America First Legal. In the complaint, Miller alleges the racial exclusions of the debt relief program violate the Constitution.

“As a nation, we are devoted to the task of satisfying these sacred ideals and providing equal rights to citizens of all races, as the Constitution requires,” the text of the complaint reads. “Profound progress has been made, and extraordinary milestones reached, throughout our history, serving as an inspiration to humanity and the nations of the world.”

The complaint continued, “Yet, today, the Department of Agriculture lurches America dangerously backward, reversing the clock on American progress, and violating our most sacred and revered principles by actively and invidiously discriminating against American citizens solely based upon their race. This is illegal, it is unconstitutional, it is wrong, and it must stop.”

America First Legal was founded by Stephen Miller, senior policy advisor for former President Donald Trump. In his announcement of the complaint, the former Trump advisor quoted the late Martin Luther King Jr., stating, “Americans ‘should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.’”

USDA responded in a statement saying it was reviewing the complaint and cooperating with the Department of Justice but would continue “to implement the debt relief to qualified socially disadvantaged borrowers” in the meantime.

“This is a major step,” Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said on Twitter. “Now in the wake of the pandemic, we can finally start to level the playing field, helping socially disadvantaged farmers in Georgia and beyond.”

A+
a-
  • black farmers
  • government aid
  • Interior Department
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    In The News

    March 27, 2024
    by TWN Staff
    Rep. Cleaver New Co-Chair of House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., is the new Democratic co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., is the new Democratic co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus. He was invited to serve as co-chair by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the co-chairs of the Senate Renewable Energy and Energy... Read More

    March 27, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    One-Time Treatment Could Revitalize Immune Systems in the Elderly

    PALO ALTO, Calif. — A new study suggests that a one-time treatment that modulates the composition of a type of... Read More

    PALO ALTO, Calif. — A new study suggests that a one-time treatment that modulates the composition of a type of immune cell could potentially revitalize the immune systems of the elderly, helping their bodies better react to viral and bacterial threats. The research was carried out... Read More

    March 27, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Insurers to Expand Access to ‘Navigation Services’ for Cancer Patients

    WASHINGTON — Seven of the nation’s largest health insurance companies are expanding access to so-called “navigation services” to help patients... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Seven of the nation’s largest health insurance companies are expanding access to so-called “navigation services” to help patients and their families navigate the myriad challenges that might arise during treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses. The insurers involved are Aetna; Blue Cross Blue... Read More

    March 27, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    New Dem Chair Kuster Announces Retirement Following 2024 Election

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition... Read More

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition in the House, revealed Wednesday that she will not seek reelection to Congress this year. In a lengthy statement released by her office, Kuster gives no... Read More

    March 26, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Supreme Court Skeptical of Ban on Abortion Pill Mifepristone

    WASHINGTON — A hearing Tuesday before the Supreme Court indicated a majority of the justices want to maintain women’s access... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A hearing Tuesday before the Supreme Court indicated a majority of the justices want to maintain women’s access to the abortion pill mifepristone despite objections from anti-abortion activists. The doctors and organizations who sued argued the Food and Drug Administration was wrong in granting... Read More

    March 26, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Consumers Warned to Avoid Certain Topical Pain Relief Products 

    WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers on Tuesday not to use certain over-the-counter pain relief products marketed... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers on Tuesday not to use certain over-the-counter pain relief products marketed for topical use before, during or after certain cosmetic procedures. The warning came after the agency issued warning letters to six companies for marketing these products... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top