Political Quotes

“In my final minute I would like to change subjects and speak about another subject that is very important to people in Louisiana, particularly to some of my African-American farmers and the small communities that they primarily reside in throughout my State. These are farmers who were blatantly discriminated against in the last several decades. We have a bill right here before us. It is referred to as the Pigford settlement. This group of farmers took their grievances to the courts. Before they could get a final judgment from the courts, the Justice Department stepped in and smartly attempted to settle this situation because the Federal Government is probably going to be very liable for past discriminations that were blatant and proven. We came up with a fair way to solve this issue, to get money to many African-American farmers. We have acknowledged there were some wrong things done by the Department of Agriculture and by the Federal Government. We want to try to make amends. We cannot make everything right and everything perfect, but the Pigford settlement is a fair and just resolution to this issue. One thousand African-American farmers in Louisiana would be benefited by this settlement. Again, this is being held up. I don't understand why, but I wanted to lend my voice to say that this settlement is not just about correcting past wrongs but about ensuring future prosperity.”