The Obama administration is offering at least $1.3 billion to settle complaints from female and Hispanic farmers who say they faced discrimination from the Agriculture Department.
The Agriculture and Justice departments announced Friday that farmers who could prove discrimination could receive up to $50,000. The proposal comes after the government settled with American Indians over similar discrimination issues last fall and Congress provided money for the second round of a black farmers settlement.
Like the black and American Indian farmers, the thousands of minorities and women say local USDA offices for years denied them loans and other assistance that routinely went to whites.
The government first announced its intent to settle the complaints in May. The more detailed offer announced Friday does not cap the number of farmers who may receive awards and waives some application fees.
Lawyers for both the women and Hispanic farmers said their clients deserve more money. Indian farmers were offered up to $250,000 each to settle claims.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said any Hispanic and women farmers not pleased with the settlement can still pursue their cases against the government.
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3 comments:
Dang! I wish I was a farmer. Then I could claim discrimination against short, fat farmers.
Holy rip-off!! How many farmers are there! If there are this many women farmers(I've NEVER seen a woman farmer, unless she was married to a male one) and this many hispanic farmers, plus all the black farmers who have magically discovered their true calling, I have to wonder...who's filling all these government positions? If you've been in any government office lately, you can't help but notice it's staffed by all women and black people. I guess farming didn't work out for them and now we have to pay them for.....not farming. There are a LOT of poor white people who never got a break, never got a loan, never had a good job. Whose fault is THAT and who do they sue??? Its GOTTA be someone's fault, right? Just not theirs, huh?
Typical Obama waste of taxpayers money for reparations to minorties.
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