Thursday, May. 27, 2021
Does a new federal program offering loan relief to farmers of color face legal challenges?
White farmers and conservative groups are suing to include white farmers in a $4 billion farm loan relief program enacted in March. The relief is limited to “socially disadvantaged” farmers who are Black or members of other ethnic minority groups, in what Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack has called a response to “decades of systemic discrimination” by government programs.
Most of the $23 billion in pandemic relief to producers during 2020 went to white producers, according to Successful Farming.
One group suing to block the move was founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and other former Trump officials. Their suit, filed in a Texas district court, charges the exclusion of whites from the program is “patently unconstitutional.” Another group of white farmers has sued in Wisconsin.
REVISED on June 2, 2021, to restate aims of lawsuits.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- US Department of Agriculture American Rescue Plan debt payments
- Successful Farming USDA loan forgiveness program has become a lightning rod in rural America
- America First Legal Lawsuit charging unconstitutional exclusion of white farmers from loan program
- America First Legal About
- AP News White farmers sue seeking government loan forgiveness
- NPR Georgia Congressman explains how the relief bill will aid farmers of color
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