Political Quotes

“I rise today, as this Chamber debates the nomination of Elena Kagan--someone I am looking forward to supporting when we vote--to raise another issue of ensuring justice in our country, an issue the Presiding Officer, I know, has been concerned about as well, and that is urging this Chamber to take action and approve funding for the settlement of racial discrimination claims made by thousands of African-American farmers. This is an issue with which I have dealt for years, first as Governor of Virginia, now as a Senator. This issue was first brought to my attention by John Boyd, who is a fourth generation African-American farmer from Southside, VA. He founded the National Black Farmers Association in 1995. He and a group of other African-American farmers brought forward a series of claims that were finally addressed in a lawsuit named Pigford v. Glickman. That lawsuit concerned allegations that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had denied farm loans and other services to African-American farmers between 1983 and 1997, although I think history will show those acts of discrimination long preceded 1983. That case was settled in 1999. But due to very tight deadlines, thousands of farmers missed the deadline to file their complaints. An estimated 74,000 Black farmers now await approval of funding by this body, following the announcement of a settlement of these additional claims by the USDA in February of this year. The USDA has acknowledged these claims.”