Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
Tom VilsackUSDA: Farm-to-school programs help schools serve healthier meals MONEY OF THE NIGHT: House ready to approve the debt ceiling bill MORE He said that only 0.1 percent of the coronavirus relief reserved by the Trump administration for American farmers was for black farmers, according to a Washington Post interview published on Thursday.
Of the approximately $ 26 billion announced by the Trump administration under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, $ 20.8 million went to black farmers, according to Vilsack. The Agriculture Secretary told the Post that the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus has worsened the pre-existing gaps in the American economy.
“We saw 99% of the money going to white farmers and 1% going to socially disadvantaged farmers and if you divide that into how much it went to black farmers, it is 0.1%,” said Vilsack. “Look at it another way: the 10% of the country’s largest farmers received 60% of the covered payments. And the bottom 10 percent received 0.26 percent. “
The Post notes that only 1.3% of American farmers – about 45,000 – are black, indicating a drop of 1 million farmers in the past 100 years.
The American Rescue Plan included $ 5 billion for colored farmers. The Post asked Vilsack why the funds were specifically added to the Biden government’s coronavirus relief plan.
“Two reasons. First, you have this systemic racism that basically left these people behind and they never reached them. This is the beginning of addressing that issue. And the second is the gap in the way the macabre relief was distributed,” Vilsack answered.
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin Graham Neglected details in the border debate: The legal right to seek asylum in the US Graham seeks to impose strict limitations on the asylum system The Senate Committee advances two nominees for Biden’s environment MORE (SC) criticized the US $ 5 billion fund of the American Rescue Plan for disadvantaged farmers in March, calling the money “reparations”.
“In this bill, if you are a farmer, your loan will be forgiven up to 120 percent of your loan … if you are at a social disadvantage, if you are African American, some other minority. But if you are [a] white person, if you are a white woman, without forgiveness. This is repair. What does this have to do with COVID? Graham said during an interview with Fox News.
Graham’s comments drew the ire of the majority of the Whip House James Clyburn (DS.C.), who accused Graham of ignoring South Carolina’s history of racism.
“We are trying to rescue people’s lives and livelihoods. He should be ashamed of himself. He knows the history of this country and knows what happened to black farmers … Lindsey should be ashamed.”