It was critical that Congress meet to iron out the stifling “pay-go” requirment that put the brakes on the deal before they left for a two-week recess last Friday; they failed to do so.
As part of the original language, the approved settlement had to be totally funded by March 31 for it to go into effect, but as of Friday as the final light went out on the Hill, only $100 million was in the pot. Advocates in the case are blaming the president.
“The president made a strong commitment to show leadership to get this done, and basically we haven’t seen him show that leadership,” said John Boyd Jr., head of the National Black Farmers Association.
“The president didn’t help us finish the job,” Boyd said.
The farmers had urged the administration to declare the settlement an emergency, which would waive Congress from being hindered by pay-go, but it appears that didn’t happen.
“There is absolutely no hesitation on the part of this administration,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “We want to get these cases resolved and we will.”
The missed deadline for the case will leave black farmers in continued dire straits.
Boyd said he will now go back to his lawyers to determine whether the funding deadline can be pushed back.
The outcome adds insult to injury in that the original lawsuit sought $2.5 billion, but was reduced to $1.5 primarily because “the administration agreed to put it on the fast track,” Boyd said, noting many of the farmers were elderly and had urgent need for the money.
Boyd said he has asked for a meeting with President Obama to get answers. At first glance, sounds like the health care dustup took precedence. –gerald radford
On Feb. 18, the Obama administration announced that tens of thousands of black farmers waiting on “the big pay back” were awarded a settlement of $1.25 billion as restitution for being discriminated against with loan assistance programs administered by the U.S. Agriculture Department. It would be one of the largest civil rights settlements in U.S. history. Now, it may turn out to be just a pipe dream, because there was a catch: the deal was contingent on congressional approval by March 31.
It’s not the 31st yet, but lawmakers leave today for a two-week break, and there is no clear sign the funds will be approved by then.
“These farmers are old, and they don’t have all this time to wait,” said John Boyd Jr., head of the National Black Farmers Association, who’s urging Congress and the administration to make good on their promise.
To bring the settlement to fruition, it would need to be declared an emergency, which would cut through the near-impossible-to-navigate red tape of the “pay-go” requirement that forces Congress to trim budgets for other programs to fund any new spending, such as the settlement.
Representative John Conyers, D-Mich., supporter and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, made a phone call yesterday to secure a last-ditch meeting with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to push him to issue the emergency order.
“As long as pay-go is waived, we don’t have any problem,” Conyers said, adding that he was confident Congress could approve the funding by Friday, when the spring recess begins, but only if Vilsack does his part.
Boyd is determined to make it happen, but he’s quickly running out of time, with no word of Vilsacks’ progress or intentions as of press time yesterday.
Missing the deadline “would mean missing another planting season, more black farmers going out of business, [and] more black farmers dying waiting for justice,” said Boyd.
Known as Pigford II (named after an earlier version of the class-action suit), approximately $100 million for the settlement has already been approved.
“We want these people to get in gear and to get this done with the same type of fire and determination that they did to do health care,” Boyd said. “It is not OK for them to tell us to wait any longer.” –gerald radford
