Anybody Disciplined Or Fired For The Alleged Discrimination Against 66,000 Black Farmers?

When the lame duck U.S. House of Representatives returns from its Thanksgiving recess, it will consider approving $1.15 billion in compensation to as many as 66,000 African American farmers who were allegedly discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) between 1981 and 1996.

The lameduck Senate approved the $1.15 billion compensation fund on Friday. The money had been requested by President Barack Obama in his fiscal 2011 budget.

When asked by CNSNews.com, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack could not say if any USDA official has ever been fired or disciplined--or will ever be fired--for engaging in the alleged discrimination against the 66,000 African American farmers.

CNSNews.com asked Vilsack about the matter just days before the Senate cleared the $1.15 billion appropriation last week.

In a videotaped interview, when CNSNews.com asked Vilsack if any USDA officials had been fired for the discrimination in the black farmers case, he said that the department was undertaking a “top to bottom review” aimed at making sure there was no recurrence of discrimination.

Vilsack also did not have an answer to the question of how many employees had been disciplined for the alleged discrimination. He further pointed out that many USDA employees who might have been guilty of the alleged discrimination in question no longer work for the department.

CNSNews.com followed up by asking Vilsack, “Should any individuals be fired if they were directly involved in discrimination?”

Vilsack responded by saying that the focus of his department was on compensating African American farmers who had been discriminated against and on ensuring there is no discrimination in the future.        More here