Congress sends Obama bill to pay black and Native American farmers for discrimination

Congress has sent President Obama legislation to pay $4.6 billion in settlements with American Indians and black farmers who say they faced discrimination and mistreatment from the government. The package would award $3.4 billion to American Indians who say they were cheated out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department and another $1.2 billion would go to African Americans who claim they were unfairly denied loans and other assistance from the Agriculture Department.

The lead plaintiff in the Native American case is Eloise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, Mont., who claimed that at least 300,000 Indians were swindled out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department since 1887. The plaintiffs originally said they were owed $100 billion, but were willing to settle for less as the case dragged on. The lead plaintiff in the African-American case is Timothy Pigford, a black farmer from North Carolina who claimed widespread discrimination by the local office of USDA. (Read more)

Shirley Sherrod, the former USDA Georgia Rural Development director who was mistakenly forced out of her job, said of the settlement: "Sixty-thousand-plus farmers have been waiting all this time to get their claims filed, and I'm just really happy that we're finally getting to the point where something is happening." reports Ben Evans for The Associated Press. "This doesn't solve everything. But at least this brings some type of resolution to the matter. It's good to see that -- at the least -- this country will do something for these farmers out there who still need justice." (Read more)