MY UNCLE, PRES. BARACK OBAMA HAS AGAIN PUT A SMILE ACROSS MY FACE, AS ONLY THE LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD CAN. HE HAS JUST PROPOSED A 1.25 BILLION DOLLAR BAILOUT FOR THE CORNERSTONE OF THE GREAT MAJORITY OF THE VERY CROPS, I.E- FRUITS & VEGETABLES, THAT WE ENJOY TODAY, THE BLACK FARMERS. IT IS TRAGIC ENOUGH THAT THEIR LAND WAS STOLEN FROM THEM BY AN ORDER SIGNED BY THEN PRES. LINDEN B. JOHNSON, EVEN AFTER THEY WERE PROMISED 40 ACRES & A MULE. NO, APPARENTLY THAT WASN’T ENOUGH. IT WAS COMPOUNDED BY PREDATORY LENDING BY BANKS FOR FARMERS WHO WERE BARELY SCRAPING BY, WHEN ALL THEY WERE TRYING TO DO WAS SURVIVE, & PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES. SO, AS A RESULT, MANY FARMERS & THEIR FAMILIES, WHO LIVED ON THE FARMS WITH THEM, WERE FORCED TO GIVE UP THE RIGHTS TO THEIR LAND, & BE FOREVER IN SOMEONE’S DEBT. I COULD GO ON & ON ABOUT THIS, AND PERHAPS I WILL DEDICATE AN ENTIRE POST TO THIS VERY DEAR TOPIC TO ME, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, READ THIS ARTICLE, & DO YOURSELF A FAVOR & HEAD TO YOUR NEAREST BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM & VIEW EVERY EXHIBIT, AS A MATTER OF FACT, BUT SPECIFICALLY ANY EXHIBIT ON THE HISTORY OF THE BLACK FARMER.
Obama to propose $1.25B for black farmers
By BEN EVANS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is proposing that the government provide $1.25 billion to settle discrimination claims by black farmers against the Agriculture Department.
The White House said the money would be included in the president's 2010 budget request to be unveiled Thursday.
Obama had taken criticism earlier this year from black farmers and lawmakers who said the federal government was neglecting the need for more money to fund claims under a decade-old class-action lawsuit against the government.
In a statement, Obama said the proposed settlement funds would "close this chapter" in the agency's history and allow it to move on.
"My hope is that the farmers and their families who were denied access to USDA loans and programs will be made whole and will have the chance to rebuild their lives and their businesses," he said.
John Boyd, who has spearheaded the litigation as head of the National Black Farmers Association and has been particularly critical of Obama recently, called the proposal a "step in the right direction."
But he said more money would be needed.
"We think this is a good step in the negotiating process. We're glad to know this issue is on the president's radar screen and we commend him for taking this step," he said. But "we need to make sure that none of the black farmers are left out."
At issue is the class-action Pigford lawsuit, named after Timothy Pigford, a black farmer from North Carolina who was among the original plaintiffs. Thousands of farmers sued USDA claiming they had for years been denied government loans and other assistance that routinely went to whites. The government settled in 1999 and has paid out nearly $1 billion in damages on almost 16,000 claims.
Since then, other farmers have pushed to reopen the case because they missed deadlines for filing. Many said they didn't know that damages were available.
Last year, Congress passed a proposal sponsored by then-Sen. Obama and others to give more farmers a chance at a settlement. But the measure included a budget of only $100 million — far short of what is likely needed. With an estimated 65,000 additional claims, some estimate the case could cost the government another $2 billion or $3 billion.
While Obama's proposal represents a marked shift from the Bush administration, which had fought paying new claims, it was unclear how the plan might be received on Capitol Hill. Many lawmakers think the payments should not be capped and that the government should pay however much it costs to resolve successful claims.
Earlier this week, Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Kay Hagan, D-N.C., introduced legislation that would allow access to an unlimited judgment fund at the Department of Treasury to pay successful claims
"I don't know other fields of litigation where there's a limit on the payments," Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., said Wednesday, speaking before the White House announced the proposal.
Most claimants in the original case opted to seek expedited payments that required a relatively low burden of proof. The payments were $50,000 plus $12,500 in tax breaks.
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