Blanche-Lincoln_12082010_001.txt

Washington—U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, released the following statement today after President Barack Obama signed into law the Claims Resolution Act of 2010. The Act will provide funding for the agreements reached in the Cobell and Pigford II lawsuits. Lincoln has led the effort to provide justice for African American farmers, introducing legislation earlier this year to fund the $1.15 billion settlement that African American farmers reached with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February.
“The time is long overdue to fund the discrimination settlement for farmers who have experienced decades of injustice. All farmers should receive equal access and treatment in the delivery of USDA’s programs and services and I am proud that we are finally closing this chapter of discrimination within USDA. While funding this settlement will not erase the anxiety and frustrations so many hard-working farmers experienced, it will help compensate their financial losses and begin laying the foundation in restoring their faith in the United States government. I applaud President Obama for signing this important piece of legislation into law so that justice can finally be served.”