The deadline for congressional approval of the 1.25 billion dollar settlement for Black Farmers has come and gone. However, there is hope for the 80 to 90 thousand black farmers as the White House is working on ways to get the farmers their settlement after 15 years of waiting. The monies were put in the President’s 2011 budget but must be congressionally approved. The settlement stems from discrimination in the farm loan program at the USDA.
North Carolina Congressman G.K. Butterfield believes the problem or hold up, is that the money has to be attached to something. That means something has to be cut to pay the farmer’s billion dollar reward. Congressman Butterfield is one of many Congressional Black Caucus members pushing for a deadline extension for the farmers.
At the March 31, 2010 White House briefing with Deputy Press Spokesman Bill Burton, he relayed the White House office of Legislative Affairs continues to work on finding a solution to get the farmers their money.
The transcript of the briefing
April
Q Yes, today is March 31st, the deadline for the Black Farmers $1.25 [billion] congressional approval for its settlement. Robert was supposed to come back with information about if the President supported an extension — because we understand that CBC members as well as the Black Farmers were looking for an extension. Do you have any information about the President supports an extension to this deadline after 15 years of their wait?
MR. BURTON: I checked in with Leg Affairs after you asked that question yesterday, and they told me that they are in fact working with Congress with some urgency to get this done as fast as possible. I don’t have any specific timing for you, but this is something that they’re working to make progress on to make sure that we get this done.
Q So it’s not going to happen today, but you mean that they could possibly use the extension — I mean, because today is the deadline and they’re not there –
MR. BURTON: Well, not knowing the particulars of the specific settlement, I’m letting you know that the legislative team is working to get this done as fast as possible.
Q Well, let me ask you this as well — since they have been waiting for 15 years in this Pickford case, the Black Farmers want to know if they can meet with the President, especially after he announced it in his 2011 budget and put out a paper saying he strongly supports it. And they wanted to know if they could sit down and talk to the President to push more so this administration to make it happen, since they’ve waited 15 years.
MR. BURTON: I don’t know if there’s a meeting in the works. I can certainly check on it, but I don’t know if that’s in the works.
Q Is this administration open to meeting with them at least?
MR. BURTON: I haven’t spoken to anybody on that, so I don’t know.