Black farmers waiting for stimulus debt relief
Leicester Bonner Virginia tobacco farmer opened his mailbox one morning last June to find a letter from the United States Department of Agriculture. The letter on page 5 states that the remaining balance of his $50,000 federal loan he received to purchase the farm will be immediately wiped out.
"It's been the heaviest burden of his life," Bonner, 75, told CBS MoneyWatch. "That's what's set me back all along."
It's been over a year since Bonner, who is black, received that letter from his USDA, but his loan Not yet allowed. Now he believes it will never be erased. Thousands of people are wondering if their debts will be reduced.This is due to a clause in the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden Tuesday to allocate to farmers. This is because the amount of debt relief available has been significantly reduced. The bill also specifically removed language that a black farmer carves out funds to expunge his USDA loan.
The Farmers of Color Emergency Relief Act was enacted last year in parallel with America's bailout plan,calling for $4 billion in loan forgiveness for farmers of color.To further provide support to black growers who struggled during the pandemic, emergency funds were used to support decades of discrimination some farmers said they faced at the hands of the USDA.
But before the dollar reached farmers like Bonner, the loan forgiveness program was removed from inflation indicators.
The revised Inflation Reduction Act removes race from the eligibility criteria, while giving "borrowers in need" his $3.1 billion, "experienced discrimination" from the USDA. Provide farmers with an additional $2.2 billion.
"Broken Promises"
By removing the words "farmers of color" originally provided in the bill, the amended bill hurt black farmers. increase. This is to provide debt relief funds to farmers of all races. said John Boyd, Jr., president of the National Association of Black Farmers. Boyd, a farmer in Virginia, added that nationally outnumbering white farmers likely meant fewer black farmers would get exemptions from U.S. Department of Agriculture loans. 205}
Changes to farm funds came one year after at least six federal lawsuits were filed by white farmers who claimed that the law was unfair. . prevented them from applying for loan forgiveness because of their race. The pending lawsuits were from small producers in Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Boyd denounced the changes made to the funding program.
"It is a broken promise and contract between the U.S. government and black farmers," he said. "This is a great loss for us and the other black farmers who have been waiting for this." One John W. Boyd, Jr. criticized changes in the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) eligibility criteria for loan forgiveness. The Inflation Reduction Act is “a big loss for us and other black farmers.” Scott J. Ferrell
Black farmers may be eligible to receive a significant portion of the aid provided under the Inflation Bill, It is unclear if their application will overwhelm other applicants who are currently eligible for relief. Boyd said it would depend on how the USDA sets standards.
The USDA has not yet determined what a farmer must submit to prove that he or she has been subjected to or suffered discrimination, the agency said. told CBS MoneyWatch.
"The USDA intends to move quickly and our team is already considering the best path forward and options for adhering to this language." , a spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch on Friday.
For decades, farmers of color have complained of unfair treatment when applying for USDA loans. According to a 1982 report of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission , the agency's lending arm "did not give sufficient focus and priority to the crisis facing black farmers. In some cases, the USDA added, "it may have hampered the efforts of black smallholder farmers to remain viable in agriculture." farmers of color see their lenders as "likely to operate small, low-yielding farms, have weak credit histories, or have no clear ownership of their farms." It is difficult to obtain agricultural loans because Found
No fuel for his tractor
Black farmers like Bonner and Boyd, Coronavirus PandemicBlack farmers received just 0.1% of the planned pandemic relief for US farmers. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told The Washington Post last year.
Conditions were so dire on his 136-acre Bonner farm in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, about 40 miles south of Richmond, that he decided to sell the pigs. did.
"I live from one Social Security check to another," Bonner told CBS MoneyWatch. "And now we can barely afford fuel for our tractors, and half are already out of order." repaid up to about $20,000. Bonner recently said he hasn't been making payments because he has no income.
Bonner said his USDA letter promising debt relief was a lifeline and may have been robbed.
"This is just like forty acres and mules," he said. "You get promises, but you never get them."
Christopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial topics ranging from economic inequality and housing to bankruptcies and the sports business. increase.
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