Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Legislation settling decades-old discrimination cases against the government from black and Native American farmers was enacted late Wednesday.
President Barack Obama signed into law H.R. 4783, which provides $1.15 billion in compensation for plaintiffs in the Pigford II case, and $3.4 billion in the lawsuit from Native Americans led by Elouise Cobell.
“While I am pleased that this Act reflects important progress, much work remains to be done to address other claims of past discrimination made by women and Hispanic farmers against the Department of Agriculture as well as to address needs of tribal communities,” the president said in a statement.
The Obama administration settled each case early this year, but appropriation from Congress was delayed over Republican concerns about fraudulent claims and the costs of the settlements during a recession.
The historic enactment took place exactly one year after the departments of Agriculture, Interior and Justice announced that an agreement had been reached with Native American farmers.
“It is impossible to undo the past, but this bipartisan measure closes a chapter by providing amends to those wronged by years of discrimination and mismanagement,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D -NV).
The USDA last year reached a $1.25 billion settlement with African-American farmers who sued the agency more than a decade ago for discrimination. The agreement is the second with the farmers, led by Timothy Pigford, who filed a class action suit in 1997 alleging racial discrimination in farm loan programs.
The government paid out $1 billion in 1999 to thousands of farmers but thousands more were left out because their claims were not received before the deadline. Lawmakers appropriated $100 million for the Pigford II case in 2008 through a farm bill, leaving $1.15 billion that still required approval.
House Republicans led by Reps. Michelle Bachman (R-MN) and Steve King (R-IA) had sought to withhold funding, citing fraud in the claims process.
Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack has assured that the legislation includes “strong protections against waste, fraud, and abuse to ensure integrity of the claims process.”
The bill signed into law also settles another class action lawsuit, one filed by Elouise Cobell in 1996 on behalf of American Indians because of the Interior Department’s failure to account for individual Indian trust funds.
Four water rights agreements with Native Americans are also included in the legislation, agreements that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said would finally provide permanent water supplies and economic security to at least six pueblos and two tribes.
Senate Republicans had sought to reduce attorney’s fees in the Cobell case from $100 million, or less than 3 percent of the settlement, to $50 million. They also proposed other changes in the agreement despite a warning from the Justice Department that the court case had been settled through 14 years of negotiations.
The Cobell settlement, which excludes the $760 million settlement for another discrimination case involving the USDA and American Indians led by George Keepseagle, still needs final approval from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which is set to hold a hearing on the case on Dec. 21.
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