MEDIA CONTACT:
STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY 11.30.10

Historic Pigford, Cobell Settlements Bring Justice for Long-Suffering
African American & Native American Farmers
Clays Cites Long History of Discrimination at USDA, Calls for Fairness, Common Decency to Prevail

WASHINGTON, DC- Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri praised the passage of historic funding for the final concurring Senate amendment to H.R. 4783, the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, which was approved in the U.S. House today by a vote of 256 – 152.  Prior to the final vote, Congressman Clay took to the House floor to deliver an impassioned argument in favor of funding the long-delayed settlements for African American and Native American Farmers. 

In his floor statement, Mr. Clay said, “It is a sad truth that the USDA, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, previously engaged in well-documented discrimination in loan, grant and trust programs.

These indefensible actions adversely affected thousands of African American and Native American farmers.

Patterns of discrimination resulted in foreclosures of family farms and severe financial hardships…some of which are still being felt to this day.

In my home state of Missouri, I have personally met with African American farmers who were misled, discriminated against, and in some cases… deliberately deceived by USDA.

These descendants of freed slaves were victimized by their own government… time and time again.

In Congress, compensation for Pigford I, Pigford II and Cobell has been blocked by partisan attempts to politicize this issue. 

This delay is inexcusable.

This is not about politics…

It is a test of our commitment to honesty, fairness and justice for all.

Today, we have a bipartisan opportunity to end this obstruction and finally do the right thing for those whom this government failed for far too long.”

The final bill includes provisions that many African American and Native American farmers have been waiting for, for decades.  It includes funding to implement both the settlement of the Pigford class action lawsuit involving past discrimination against African American farmers by USDA, and the Cobell class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior which seeks compensation for the gross mismanagement of trust funds held for Native Americans. 

The funding for the Pigford Settlement is estimated to be $1.15 billion, while the Cobell settlement is projected to cost $3.41 billion.  The bill’s total cost of $5.4 billion is fully paid for by: 1) unemployment insurance reform; 2) customs user fees and the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act: and 3) rescission of $562 million in surplus funds at USDA.

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