For Immediate Release
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Grassley: Black Farmers Deserve Justice from USDA
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley today sent a letter to Sens. Tom Harkin and Saxby Chambliss the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, requesting that they include legislation that would help thousands of African-American farmers in the Committee’s mark of the 2007 Farm Bill.
Grassley’s legislation would help African-American farmers who were denied entry into the Pigford v. Glickman settlement, which ended a discrimination lawsuit between African American farmers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“These farmers should get fair consideration of their case and up to this point the Department of Agriculture hasn’t allowed it to happen,” Grassley said. I had hoped we could settle this without legislation, but enough is enough. If we don’t pass legislation thousands of victims of discrimination continue to be denied an opportunity even to have their claims heard.”
Grassley introduced the bill with Sen. Barack Obama. Reps. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott and Steve Chabot introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives.
Here is the text of Grassley’s letter:
October 3, 2007
The Honorable Tom Harkin
Chairman
Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry
328A RussellOfficeBuilding
Washington, DC20510
The Honorable Saxby Chambliss
Ranking Member
Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry
328A RussellOfficeBuilding
Washington, DC20510
Dear Senators Harkin and Chambliss,
I respectfully request that the Senate Agriculture Committee include legislative language in the 2007 farm bill which addresses the late filed claims in the Pigford lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Specifically, I have introduced S. 515, The Pigford Claims Remedy Act of 2007.
As you know, the USDA settled a landmark class action lawsuit with African American farmers in 1999. The USDA and the county commissioners discriminated against African American farmers when they denied, delayed, or otherwise frustrated the applications of those farmers and those attempting to farm for farm loans and other credit and benefit programs. This settlement permitted over 22,000 black farmers to have their claims evaluated on the merits, and almost 15,000 had their claims vindicated.
Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, approximately 75,000 additional black farmers filed their claims of discrimination through the Pigford consent decree process past the deadline for their claims to be evaluated on the merits. As a result, thousands of victims of discrimination continue to be denied an opportunity even to have their claims heard.
My bill would help black farmers and ranchers, who were unjustly discriminated against while trying to secure farm loans, to get the opportunity to have their claims heard. In addition, the Finance Committee, of which I am the ranking member, will be marking up tax-related farm legislation that will have the effect of freeing up around $3 billion under
your jurisdiction. This is more than enough in funding to provide a robust legislative fix to the ongoing problems with the Pigford claims process.
I appreciate the Committee’s consideration of my request to include the substance of my bill in the Committee’s mark of the 2007 farm bill.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
United States Senator