In 1999, the USDA agreed to pay $1 billion to 16,000 black farmers. A judge had ruled that the agency had a 50-year history of discriminating against African-Americans, back when virtually every agency was discriminating against African-Americans. But that wasn't enough for the black farmers and one former senator.
Critics argued that more than 70,000 farmers were shut out of the lawsuit. In 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley got a law passed to reopen the case, and the settlement talks moved forward.The USDA and the farmers reached a deal last month to award another $1.25 billion for the rural blacks. All this is to make amends for a grievance that occurred decades ago and that was solved 11 years ago. Now the government has to find a way to pony up over a billion dollars before the imposed deadline of March 31. If the money isn't appropriated in time, both parties could walk away from the table and the case could rage on. The black farmers, who were initially demanding $2.5 billion but settled, are likely to do just that. With staggering amounts of debt piling up and the Congress in paralysis after the health care debate, Obama needs to find a way to shove his latest affirmative action payout through and fast.
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