Court fights have stalled debt relief to amend past discrimination of minority farmers; now the administration has to decide how to fight for it
A string of legal defeats for a groundbreaking program to forgive the debts of minority farmers is presenting the Biden administration with a stark choice. It can continue the fight and risk further setbacks or give up and disappoint activists and lawmakers who have championed the cause.
One legal expert said he would be shocked if the administration allowed the fights over the debt relief program to reach the Supreme Court or even pressed forward with appeals. “I don’t think they have a chance in hell of prevailing with the current court,” said the attorney, who asked not to be named, citing sensitivities due to ongoing work with groups active on the issue.
To dole out the payments, the Treasury was set to pay 100 percent of the farmers’ outstanding debt and an additional 20 percent to cover tax liabilities, fees and other loan costs. While the payout process was set to start in June, a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunctions issued have stopped the payment process — but USDA is still allowed to continue readying the payments and notifying farmers of eligibility in case the program is ever deemed constitutional.
Several legal experts said the minority farmers statute seems to suffer from exactly the same problem the Supreme Court seized on in 1989 to torpedo an affirmative action program in Richmond, Va., that sought to give minority-owned firms a 30 percent set-aside of city construction contracts.
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