{"id":561952,"date":"2021-06-12T12:21:37","date_gmt":"2021-06-12T16:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=561952"},"modified":"2021-06-12T12:21:40","modified_gmt":"2021-06-12T16:21:40","slug":"federal-judge-halts-biden-administration-program-that-discriminated-against-white-farmers-saying-lawsuit-could-be-successful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-judge-halts-biden-administration-program-that-discriminated-against-white-farmers-saying-lawsuit-could-be-successful\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Judge Halts Biden Administration Program That Discriminated Against White Farmers, Saying Lawsuit Could Be Successful"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffederal-judge-halts-biden-administration-program-that-discriminated-against-white-farmers-saying-lawsuit-could-be-successful%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=561952&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1253457067-1200x800-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>The Biden administration\u2019s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package included several provisions that discriminated against people based on race, including one that provided forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to \u201csocially disadvantaged\u201d farmers.<\/p>\n<p>In late April, Republican Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/texas-official-sues-biden-administration-for-discriminating-against-white-farmers\">sued<\/a> the Biden administration, saying the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) violated the U.S. Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it excluded farmers from the loan forgiveness program based on race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lawsuit says the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan\u00a0passed by Congress last month includes provisions for the forgiveness of loans to \u2018socially disadvantaged\u2019 farmers or ranchers of up to 120% of the value of the loan,\u201d Courthouse News Service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/texas-agriculture-commissioner-claims-covid-19-aid-discriminates-against-white-farmers-ranchers\/\">reported<\/a> at the time. \u201cIt claims other federal laws limit help for white farmers and ranchers, including the Agriculture Department being required to give preference to grant applications filed by \u2018socially disadvantaged\u2019 farmers or ranchers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A week later, a Wisconsin dairy farmer with two prosthetic legs also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/out-and-out-racist-dairy-farmer-with-two-prosthetic-legs-sues-biden-administration-for-basing-loan-forgiveness-on-race\">sued<\/a> the Biden administration, writing:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"15\">\n<p><em>In March 2021, the United States retreated from the principle of equality under the law by enacting a race-based loan-forgiveness program in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Among other things, ARPA provides billions of dollars of debt relief to \u201csocially disadvantaged\u201d farmers and ranchers. The phrase \u201csocially disadvantaged\u201d includes explicit racial classifications: to be eligible for ARPA\u2019s debt relief, farmers and ranchers must be Black or African American, American Indian or Alaskan native, Hispanic or Latino, or Asian American or Pacific Islander. Other farmers\u2014white farmers, for example\u2014are ineligible.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The lawsuit eventually included 12 farmers from nine states.<\/p>\n<p>NBC News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/judge-orders-temporary-halt-4b-federal-loan-relief-program-farmers-n1270512\">reported<\/a> on Friday that a federal judge in Wisconsin ordered a temporary halt to the $4 billion program, ruling that the white farmers who filed lawsuits \u201care likely to succeed on the merits of their claim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NBC, of course, wrote the story from the perspective that the Biden administration program was \u201caimed at addressing longstanding inequities for farmers of color.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Judge William Griesbach ruled that the USDA\u2019s \u201cuse of race-based criteria in the administration of the program violates their right to equal protection under the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matt Herrick, a spokesman for the USDA, told NBC: \u201cWe respectfully disagree with this temporary order and USDA will continue to forcefully defend our ability to carry out this act of Congress and deliver debt relief to socially disadvantaged borrowers. When the temporary order is lifted, USDA will be prepared to provide the debt relief authorized by Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2021\/03\/08\/reparations-black-farmers-stimulus\/\">told<\/a> The Washington Post that the relief program was designed to help minority farmers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor generations, socially disadvantaged farmers have struggled to fully succeed due to systemic discrimination and a cycle of debt,\u201d Vilsack told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>As Judge Griesbach pointed out, however, the program ignores the actual financial circumstances of applicants, as many white farmers also struggled during the pandemic, which is the basis for the forgiveness program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAside from a summary of statistical disparities, defendants have no evidence of intentional discrimination by the USDA in the implementation of the recent agriculture subsidies and pandemic relief efforts,\u201d Griesbach wrote, noting that the policy was \u201ca loan-forgiveness program purportedly intended to provide economic relief to disadvantaged individuals without actually considering the financial circumstances of the applicant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongress can implement race-neutral programs to help farmers and ranchers in need of financial assistance, such as requiring individual determinations of disadvantaged status or giving priority to loans of farmers and ranchers that were left out of the previous pandemic relief funding,\u201d Griesbach added. \u201cBut it cannot discriminate on the basis of race.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Griesbach\u2019s ruling follows a similar decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which late last month <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/court-strikes-down-racial-gender-preferences-in-bidens-1-9-trillion-covid-relief-bill-that-discriminated-against-restaurant-owners\">overturned<\/a> another provision in Biden\u2019s COVID relief bill that discriminated against restaurant owners based on race and gender.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Biden administration\u2019s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package included several provisions that discriminated against people based on race, including one that provided forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2280108,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1253457067-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Federal Judge Halts Biden Administration Program That Discriminated Against White Farmers, Saying Lawsuit Could Be Successful","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1253457067-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Federal Judge Halts Biden Administration Program That Discriminated Against White Farmers, Saying Lawsuit Could Be Successful","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2280108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}