Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday said the government has taken steps to prevent fraud in recent major settlements with black farmers and American Indians.
Congress last month passed legislation to pay $1.15 billion to settle a case known as Pigford II, in which African-American farmers alleged discrimination in Agriculture Department loan programs; and $3.4 billion to resolve Cobell v. Salazar, in which American Indians alleged they had been shortchanged by the Interior Department on royalties. President Barack Obama signed the bill Wednesday.
Conservatives, who have been critical of the legislation, say it has the potential for fraud, TPMMuckraker reported.
Holder and Vilsack answered questions from reporters Wednesday after attending a joint Department of Justice-Agriculture Department workshop on antitrust issues in the agriculture industry in Washington.
Vilsack said: “I think we have in place appropriate steps and we must recognize that what we’re doing here is compensating for acts of discrimination that took place some time ago.” He added, “I think there are significant safeguards that have been placed in the settlement process in addition to those that would occur just generally, which is a review by an independent arbitrator and adjudicator.”
According to Vilsack, to receive payout, people will need approval from the USDA inspector general and the comptroller general.
Holder added: “The fraud concern is legitimate, and one that I think the secretary has indicated has been addressed in the past and we’ll continue to use those mechanisms to implement this new settlement.”
This story has been updated.
The fact that Congress did not appropriate $1.15 billion for a discrimination settlement agreement with black farmers before leaving town for a two-week recess didn’t leave the claimants out of luck, a spokesman for Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told Main Justice on Tuesday.
Thompson is among a handful of members of Congress who have been trying to usher the deal through Congress before March 31 — the last day the parties to the deal may leave the agreement. But the settlement, which is backed by the Obama administration, does not impose a deadline on Congress for the appropriation. Congress left town last Friday and will not return until April 12.
Cory Horton, Thompson’s spokesman, said the Mississippi Democrat is in close contact with congressional appropriators to ensure that money is doled out to the farmers as quickly as possible.
“The sooner we can get this done, the better,” Horton told Main Justice.
The National Black Farmers Association had urged President Barack Obama to declare the funds to be emergency spending, thus removing procedural hurdles that made quick congressional approval difficult. Horton said “all options are on the table” to help get the bill through Congress.
The settlement was intended to bring to an end lengthy litigation by black farmers who faced discrimination from the Department of Agriculture when obtaining farm loans.
The money is to compensate farmers who didn’t meet filing deadlines and were left out of an original 1999 settlement, in which the government agreed to pay the black farmers for past discrimination in lending and other USDA programs.
The agreement was announced last month, drawing support from Thompson, along with Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Artur Davis (D-Ala.), and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.)
Congress did not appropriate money to fund a $1.15 billion discrimination settlement agreement with black farmers before leaving on Friday for a two-week recess.
The agreement was announced last month, contingent on Congress appropriating the money by a March 31 deadline, according to the principals. The settlement is now in jeopardy.
The settlement was intended to bring to an end lengthy litigation by black farmers who suffered discrimination at the hands of the Department of Agriculture in obtaining farm loans.
The money is to compensate farmers who missed filing deadlines and were left out of an original 1999 settlement, in which the government agreed to pay the black farmers for past discrimination in lending and other USDA programs.
“The president made a strong commitment to show leadership to get this done, and basically we haven’t seen him show that leadership,” John Boyd Jr., head of the National Black Farmers Association, told Reuters. “The president didn’t help us finish the job.”
The farmers’ group had urged President Barack Obama to declare the funds emergency spending, thus removing procedural hurdles that made quick congressional approval difficult.
Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.), told Main Justice that the majority leader is still committed to securing funds for the settlement as quickly as possible. A spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from Main Justice.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and other members of Congress held a news conference on Wednesday asking the Obama administration to help get the settlement through Congress. Conyers even called Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack from his cell phone during the news conference to set up a meeting later that day with the Obama administration official.
A USDA spokesman told The Hill on Wednesday that the agency was “actively working with Congress” to secure funds for the settlement.
A spokesman for Conyers on Friday didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
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.
