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The Obama administration announced a $1.25 billion settlement agreement with African American farmers who alleged that they suffered racial discrimination in U.S. Department of Agriculture farm loan programs, Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thursday.

“Bringing this litigation to a close has been a priority for this Administration,” Holder said in a statement. “With the settlement announced today, USDA and the African American farmers who brought this litigation can move on to focus on their future. The plaintiffs can move forward and have their claims heard – with the federal government standing not as an adversary, but as a partner.”

The money will go toward compensating black farmers who missed filing deadlines and were left out of an original 1999 settlement, in which the government agreed to pay farmers for past discrimination in lending and other USDA programs.

“USDA has made it a top priority to ensure all farmers are treated fairly and equally,” Vilsack said in a statement. “The agreement reached today is an important milestone in putting these discriminatory claims behind us for good and in achieving finality for this group of farmers with longstanding grievances.”

The settlement is contingent on Congress appropriating the $1.15 billion that President Barack Obama requested last May. The other $100 million was appropriated by Congress in a 2008 farm bill.

Following the appropriation, the farmers may pursue their individual claims through a non-judicial claims process in front of a neutral arbitrator. Claimants who establish their credit-related claims will be entitled to receive up to $50,000 and debt relief. A separate track may provide actual damages of up to $250,000 through a more rigorous process.