Senate Votes to Reopen Black Farmers' Lawsuits
Monday, December 17, 2007
Printable FormatAssociated Press By BEN EVANS
WASHINGTON (AP) - The farm bill approved by the Senate last week
moved Congress a step closer to reopening a landmark discrimination
case against the Agriculture Department.
Like its companion bill in the House, the Senate measure would
give thousands of black farmers another chance at seeking
compensation over claims that they were denied loans or other crop
subsidies because of their race.
Critics have charged that farmers had plenty of time to win
claims under the original settlement that USDA agreed to in 1999.
Reopening the matter now could cost several billion dollars and
reward questionable claimants who may not have suffered losses,
they argue.
But advocates for black farmers say the settlement was flawed
and that many farmers living in rural areas did not know of the
deadline for filing claims.
So far, the provision _ tucked inside the nearly $300 billion
farm bill _ has not run into significant opposition on Capitol
Hill. Aides said it appears likely to survive in the final version
of the bill that Congress sends to President Bush.
"For far too long, this country's hardworking black farmers
were discriminated against by our own government, and this
legislation offers a chance for us to continue righting those
wrongs," Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat running for
president, said in a written statement.
The federal government in April 1999 settled a class action
lawsuit from black farmers who claimed they were systematically
denied loans and other government aid from local USDA offices.
Using a review process that required a lower standard of proof than
a civil suit, the department agreed to pay $50,000 plus tax
benefits to farmers who could show they faced discrimination. They
also set up a more stringent process for larger claims.
About two-thirds of the nearly 22,500 farmers who filed claims
were awarded damages, and the government has paid almost $1 billion
in compensation.
But about 74,000 additional claims were never heard because
farmers missed an October 1999 deadline for filing.
The pending legislation would allow those claimants to file
entirely new lawsuits or to seek expedited payments of $50,000
under similar conditions as in the original settlement.
To hold down cost estimates, the legislation calls for a budget
of $100 million. But that would cover just a fraction of the real
cost. If most of the 74,000 late filers sought expedited claims,
for example, it would take fewer than 2,000 successful claims to
reach $100 million.
John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association
who has pushed for the measure, said the lack of funding makes its
passage "bittersweet." But he said it "gets the cases out of
nowhere land."
"We're looking at far more than $100 million, absolutely," he
said. "But half a loaf is better than none."